


A Surge of Power | NCT

by SoftBunns



Category: NCT
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Idk if I could write smuts about these guys tbh, Kinda Crack, Multi, Original Character(s), Slow Updates, Supernatural - Freeform, There will be smut since I didn’t feel comfortable putting that on the other app..., eventually all those ships get together, ships kinda, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-09-25 08:24:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 48,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20373703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftBunns/pseuds/SoftBunns
Summary: “What are you?”In which NCT find out they aren’t just a group of ordinary boys.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I’m new to writing on this website but I have been uploading this book on Wattpad. I feel like on this site I’m able to show more of their relationships so... yeah. This is my first book on anything really so I hope you enjoy.

The following chapter will give you some background information on the characters. Now keep in mind these are real men but everything I write about is pure fiction and the main female character is completely from my imagination.

Okay here we go!

Lee Sooyoung  
(You can imagine her as anyone you'd like. Ijust didn't really have a particular person in mind)

Superpower: Power Mimicry

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Lee Sooyoung is the only daughter of Lee Minhyuck and Lee Yerin. Though her wealth and lifestyle is extravagant and extraordinary, Sooyoung feels... average... As though her life has no purpose. Other than going to school and hanging out with the few friends she's had since primary school, she was training. Training for that thing her parents kept saying she needed to keep her eyes open for. The thing she had no idea about. She enjoyed being strong and being able to take care of herself, but as long as she has her dramas and cat to keep her company at the end of the day, whatever life changing bull shit her parents constantly go on about, she knows she can grab it by the balls and give it hell when the time comes.

Moon Taeil

Superpower: Healing

Status of Power: Unknown (to them)

He was the oldest among most of his friends, that not being many, but that made him cautious and overbearing (to the others at least) but to him, he was just being a good friend. He had always had a passion for helping people, maybe that was why he was going to school to go into the medical field. He was almost done with school, he was so close he could taste it, but something just wasn't right, something was holding him back. But what was it?

Seo Young Ho  
(Johnny)

Superpower: Shapeshifting

Status of Power: Unknown (to them)

He wasn't that old yet and he still had so much he wanted to do and see. He spent the first year out of highschool to travel and see the world but something always called him back to Seoul. He never quite knew what or even who for that matter had him chained to the city but he always found himself buying that damn plane ticket back. He even found himself applying to a school out there. What would he study? He didn't know yet but something just felt right about it all. Like it was calling him.  
His calling.

Lee Taeyong 

Superpower: Self Multiplication

Status of Power: Some what known (to them)

He had to be there. He didn't know why but he just always had to be there. But there was only one of him, he could only do so much at one time with only one body. Going to school, writing, and even playing with that used keyboard his parents had gotten him for getting into college. He could do it all, but it sure as hell wasn't easy. Going to friends games, or their recitals or even their meets for other activities they were into, Taeyong was always there. He'd always wish there was more of him, but that was stupid, right?

Nakamoto Yuta

Superpower: Flight

Status of Power: Unknown (to them)

Can't find Yuta? Have you looked up? Not literally but a there is quite a large chance you'll find him up in a tree or on a roof top somewhere. He couldn't explain it he just knew he felt at peace and calm up there. Safe. He felt safe up in high places. Being away from the ground meant being away from other people and the sad and depressing issues with society. It made him sick to see the way people acted towards each other. He wished there was something he could do to help and make a change but right now, he's good with his head in the clouds.

Qian Kun

Superpower: Telekinesis

Status of Power: Unknown (to them)

He missed his family. A lot. He missed his old friends. A lot. But this school was a fresh start, a new opportunity to grab life by the balls and take the world as his own. He knew he could do it but, could he do it alone? He could damn well try. He was smart and could handle himself quite well but, something felt wrong. He felt a tingle and he was convinced it was a higher power telling him that something good, something right was going to happen to him. Well whatever it was, it better be worth it.

Kim Dong Young  
(Doyoung)

Superpower: Invulnerability 

Status of Power: Unknown (to them)

Nothing could touch him. Sticks and stones couldn't break his bones, and your words sure as hell didn't mean anything to him. He was confident and proud of himself, but not in a rude or narcissistic way, he was just well put together. In other peoples eyes at least. But there was always something that could get under his skin. Something that could get him fired up beyond belief. But you don't have to worry about that.  
Yet.

Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul  
(Ten)

Superpower: Mind Reading

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Look him in the eyes and you'll see something behind them. He knows what your thinking even before you do. He finishes you sentences and your drink if you aren't pay attention, but that's just Ten for you. He's swift on his feet and in his head, but somethings off... he's beginning to feel different, like a weird sensation that he can't quite put his finger on. He'll have to think about it.

Jung Yoon Oh  
(Jaehyun)

Superpower: Teleportation 

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

He was everywhere. Literally everyone knew his name, his face, but they didn't know his story. No one did and that's how he planned to keep it. He didn't need fake people in his life, that's why he left his last school, and the one before that. He got tired of being in the same place for to long, but that wasn't the case here. He couldn't find the excuse to try and get away yet but he's only just gotten here. He's got still time.

Dong Si Cheng  
(Winwin)

Superpower: Invisibility

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

It was like he wasn't even there. No one knew him, yet he knew them. He felt like his purpose was to watch and listen from the shadows. To watch and decipher the events that played out in-front of him. He knew what everyone was going through whether they said it out loud or not. He knew because he saw their faces from the darkness. What could he do with all of this information? Sell it? Black Mail? Maybe but for now he was happy. Enjoying the show from the shadows.

Kim Jung-woo  
(Jungwoo)

Superpower: Super Intelligence

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Brains over Brawns. That's how Jungwoo lived his life. He knew he was smart but didn't like to rub it in others faces. He'd just always been like this. Some called him a freak. Others called him the next Einstein. He knew everything. But what about Jungwoo? Why did it still feel like he didn't know what to do with himself? What to do with the feelings he had inside himself? The scary feeling he had his whole life? He guesses he doesn't know everything after all.

Huang Xuxi / Wong Yuk-hei  
(Lucas)

Superpower: Super Strength 

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Brawns over Brains man, that's all he needed. He's large physic and loud personality had everyone knowing his name and business. A friend, A confidante, The captain. It was all he could've dreamed of and more. He loved what he did and did what he loved but was it enough? Was anything in his life big enough to fulfill his need for power?

Lee Min Hyung  
(Mark Lee)

Superpower: Mind Control

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Persuasive. That's the technical term to use when he described himself. He just had a way with words he guessed. Maybe it was the way he asked them? Or the way he held himself when he asked? Or, god forbid, the look he could muster up when asking for a favor? Or maybe it was something more?

Xiao Dejun  
(Xiao Jun)

Superpower: Control Animals

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

He loved nature. He'd rather be outside in the open than cooped up in a dark room. Not too many people understood him. He felt like a true outcast. Hell even his parents didn't want him, but he's past that now, he doesn't need that part anymore. He has his real family. The creatures that roam in the outskirts of the city limits were his true family and that's all he needed. That's all he could ever ask for.

Won Kunhang/Huang Guanheng  
(Hendery)

Superpower: Forcefields 

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Words didn't affect him. You could say something about him and it would bounce right back off of him without a second thought. He just assumed growing up with his family gave him thick skin. Or maybe it was the old school he went to? He didn't know but he wasn't complaining, he's was more worried about the growing feeling that something was going to happen. More specifically, going to happen to him.

Huang Ren Jun  
(Renjun)

Superpower: Water Manipulation 

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Renjun loved the water. For as long as he could remember he could always find a memory of himself and someone else, whether it be a family member or a close friend, swimming in a nearby lake or pool. He always felt most calm while being submerged, and he always knew he could do amazing things in and with water.

Lee Je No  
(Jeno)

Superpower: Earth Manipulation 

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Some people found the ground disgusting. Some found rocks or pebbles absolutely useless but not Jeno. He was down to earth, literally. He loved to just lay on the ground... it was alarming to his parents growing up to say the least, but without a doubt he always felt the most comfortable while being outside in some type of mud or soil. He had no idea when the infatuation with the material began but he always knew deep down the earth was a powerful thing. And so was he.

Lee Dong Hyuck  
(Haechan)

Superpower: Fire Manipulation 

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

When Donghyuck was 5 he got his first burn from the stove. His mother rushed him to the sink to try and soothe the burn and keep him calm, yet Donghyuck wasn't screaming nor crying. Scarily enough he almost enjoyed the feeling the open flame gave him. That's wouldn't be the last time he felt like that from a burn, whether it be an accident or not. He felt alive when he came in contact with the element. He felt vigorous.

Na Jae Min  
(Jaemin)

Superpower: Air Manipulation 

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Windy days were Jaemins favorite. He loved the feeling of being almost swept away by the soothing force of wind. It was always something calming about it. When he was younger he always had to have the windows open or a fan going when it was bed time. His family never questioned it and just assumed the sounds lulled him to sleep, but they had no idea the true feeling it gave Jaemin. It was so strong even he couldn't describe it.

Liu YangYang

Superpower: Super Speed

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Track star was his title in the halls of the school. Everyone wanted to challenge yang yang to a race, to which he smiled and politely accepted. He also politely kicked ass every.single.time. He never lost. He even went easy on some people but no one could even come close to the speed or stamina he possessed. It was like he was the reincarnation of Usain Bolt. Or the Road Runner? Definitely Road Runner.

Zhong Chen Le  
(Chenle)

Superpower: Precognition

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

You ever get that feeling that you know something is about to happen? Yeah, Chenle feels like that. All the time. Someone drops a pencil? Chenle knew a minute before that it would happen. He can't read minds or see into the future, he can just sense it. His family calls it his sixth sense. He calls it his creepy talent.

Park Ji Sung  
(Jisung)

Superpower: Phasing

Status of Powers: Unknown (to them)

Using the door was no fun for Jisung. Though he was young, he was tall for his age and still growing. So what does one do when they don't want to use the door? Find any other way to gain access to the place you are attempting to infiltrate. In other terms bust down a wall or hop on in through a window. Yeah his parents have had to replace holes in the walls way too many times but what? He can't help it. Its like nothing can stand in his way. Not even that brick wall.


	2. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is before the school year starts

"_Shit_!"

Sooyoung yelps as her back hits the thin mat. Gritting her teeth, she attempts to maneuver a limb free to counter the attack, but to no avail. She puffs her cheeks and goes limp as to silently say 'you win'. Leaning in close, her opponent, and long time training partner, smirks and chuckles.

"Damn Soo, when will you learn that you will never win against me?" She rolls her eyes and lifts her chin in a mocking way. Still smirking, her friend stands while extending his hand to help her to her feet. Sooyoung smiles sweetly and accepts the outstretched limb only to harshly grab it and flip their positions. Rule one of training with Sooyoung, never let your guard down. With a grunt they tumble back to the mat and she pins his arms by his head. Now it was her turn to be a cocky shit. A small smile tugs at the side of her lips as she leans in close.

"Damn Min, when are you gonna learn that you'll never win against me?" With a shake of his head and a huff, Mingyu knows hes been beat. She hops up with a new found energy and helps the larger male to his feet. Once standing, he walks to the side wall of the gym where his bag is propped up. He squats down to grab two towels and water bottles before throwing one of each to the sweaty girl behind him.

With little grace, Sooyoung catches both items and begins to open the bottle to chug it as she makes her way over to the now sitting boy. With a sigh, she slips down the wall next to her friend and closes her eyes. A worried expression crosses Mingyus face and he leans forward to get a better look at her. "You doin ok there, love?" With eyes still shut, she took a deep breath and sighed. She lifted her head and laid it on her crossed arms over her knees.

Turning her head to the side, she slowly opened her eyes and sighed. "Schools starting soon..." she trailed off with a sad tone. Mingyu smiled sadly and placed a reassuring hand on her back and lightly rubbed circles into her skin. He knew she was nervous, she always got like this before the start of a new school year. "I know Soo, but it'll be ok. You and I can still hang out as much as you want and I promise that I will make ti-" Sooyoung rolled her eyes and shifted her body. "Don't make promises you can't Min. You've been giving me the same damn speech for the last God knows how many years and every single year it ends up the same. You with all of your friends and me with mine. We don't socialize outside of this room." Mingyu knew she was getting fired up again, so he lightly placed his hand on her shoulder.

She realized her little tantrum and placed her head back down before she continued. "I get it, you have a reputation and I don't. Everyone knows you and nobody knows me. Everyone adores you and..." she paused to think of a word to describe how she truly felt. With a sad smile she continued, "Nobody ever notices me." With that she slowly begins to stand up and make her way for her things. Mingyu sighs and closes his eyes, he knows she's right, she's almost always right, but it still made him feel like a total dick.

Once she's across the room, Sooyoung grabs her bag and hauls it over her shoulder with a huff. With a sad smile she turns her head back to give Mingyu one final glance. "I'll see you around Min, be safe and don't do anything stupid ok?" He chuckles and shrugs his shoulders, " I won't." He pauses but keeps the eye contact. He has something to say, something he needs to say. With a deep breath, he clears his throat and says, "Take care of yourself, ok Soo?" Looking down at her feet she kicks the floor and crinkles her nose. "That was so cheesy Min, but yea I will." She turns to leave with a chuckle, but Mingyu calls for her to stop. He's standing now, his height making him quite intimidating. "You promise?" Sooyoung rolls her eyes good neutrally and laughs. "Yeah yeah I will I will," she says waving her hand as she turns around again. "I mean it Sooyoung," he says with a voice he only used when he was truly trying to be serious.

Surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere, Sooyoung turns around with a worried expression, but Mingyus face and body language begs her not to question him. Nodding her head with a now more serious look, she regains her composure, "yeah I promise, I promise Mingyu." He nods with a sad smile and she reachers for the door handle.

•

Sooyoung liked to tell her friends that she lived alone. Though she wasn't that old, she was an adult and could take care of herself. She has always been able to take care of herself. Maybe it was the training shes been enduring since the day she could walk on her own, or maybe even it was all the times she would stand up for herself and her friends in school. Or maybe it was the fact she never saw her parents and always had to do things alone. Damn... she was really lonely.

But she didn't care. All the materialistic things that made most happy had no appeal to Sooyoung. She didn't care. She didn't need all of that to be content with her life. She was healthy and kept up good grades. She had no complaints. Her life could be so much worse, yet she still felt like what she was doing wasn't enough. She always told herself it was the fact that her parents didn't have time for her was the reason she felt like this. They were doctors or scientists...she thinks? They never told her and she never asked.

Not that she didn't want to know about what they did, she did love them and she knew they loved her, but she was skeptical of what they truly did. Whenever she'd tried to ask in the past, they would make up an excuse and send her shopping or try to busy her with a new gadget that hadn't been released to the public yet. Oh well though still could be worse. With a heavy sigh, Sooyoung opened the large front door to her house, if you could even call it that. She slipped off her shoes and made her way to the kitchen.

Once she's there she is greeted by one of the few people she could confide in. The woman who helped raise Sooyoung since she was a baby. With a wide smile, she greets her long time friend and grabs an apple. "Hello Heyrim, how was your day?" The older lady lifts her head and immediately grins. "Hello dear, my day was the same old same old," she said waving her frail hand around her head. "but tell me about yours. How's Mingyu doing?" She said with slight smirk on her lips. With a sigh, Sooyoung plops down on a bar stool near the island that Hyerim was cutting vegetables at. "He's ok I guess, still the same old Mingyu," she said with an airy laugh. Heyrim sighs and places the knife down on the cutting board. "Look Sweetheart, you and I both know how he can be. He's a good kid don't let your feelings get in the way of the amazing bond you two share." With a huff, Sooyoungs shoulders dropped as she knew what the elder was saying was true. A comfortable silence ensues the two as Hyerim finished up dinner.

Once she was finished, she placed a plate with food in-front of the girl. She quietly thanked her and began eating. They spoke of other things such as gossip and other things that Hyerim had heard from others throughout the day. Once finished, Sooyoung excused herself and washed her dish in the sink. Bidding her friend goodnight, she walked up the spiraling staircase up to her room.

Once safely inside she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She felt a soft movement by her feet and quickly felt the feeling of happiness as her pride and joy made himself known. "Hi baby," she smiled sweetly as the animal snaked it's way through her parted ankles. It made a noise of acknowledgement and once finishing with its 'welcome home' it made its way back to her bed where it sprawled itself out. A smile made its way onto Sooyoungs face as she made her way to her bathroom to shower and get ready for bed.

With the warm water running down her back, she had time to replay todays events in her head. She also had time to think of the new school year that would be starting the next week. It was a lot but she could do it. She had to. Going into the same field as her parents was what she wanted to do, almost as if she wanted to keep their legacy alive, but she knew it would be a lot of work. Work that she was prepared for though. Forcing her eyes opened, she turned off the water and dried her body. After dressing in her pajamas, she made her way to her sink to finish her routine. She stopped in-front of the mirror and looked at herself through her lashes. Yeah, my life could be a lot worse, she thought to herself with a small laugh.

Comfortably under her blankets with her Prince Charming, she grabbed her laptop to play a drama shes been watching since the beginning of the summer break. It was quite unrealistic, the drama, imagine finding love during the apocalypse? Not a thing. Love itself was something Sooyoung didn't quite understand.

I’m Of course she had crushes, but never a real relationship, like the ones with another person type deal. But like most social constructs in life, she didn't care. She was independent and could handle her own, but still the thought of having that kind of connection with someone was always appealing to her. But boys are dumb, like really dumb. Oh well, maybe someday some boy will come and sweep her off her feet. She even read one of those stupid horoscopes off some app her friend told her download. All of it was crap to say the least. It had the audacity to tell her something strong and powerful was coming into her retrograde or some shit like that.

Whatever that meant.

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will start in the new school year.


	3. I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay now we start

This game was intense.

_"The knights are down by a touchdown as we enter the final minutes of the fourth quarter_," the announcer commentated over the speaker.

They were tired beyond belief at this point. It was the second month of school and the team was already having their struggles with all the school work piling up along with the constant practices and training sessions the coach kept requiring the team to attend. They couldn't let their grades slip, but they also couldn't lose their position on the team or the game.

"Alright everyone huddle up!" Called Coach.

The team huddled around the angry, short man with a red splotchy face, with ears ready for their next play. His eyes wandered along his players as he was making up his mind on what to do next. "Alright boys listen up," he said leaning in close. "Seo, I need you to get that ball to Lee down the field as quick as you possibly can."

The quarterback, number 5, nodded his head in understanding, as the receiver, number 8, mimicked his actions.

"Ok then let's get to it then, BREAK" they all clapped and parroted their coach as they got into their formation on the field.

"Yo Lee," number 5 called over to the younger. The receiver was quick to look up at the captain to let him know he was listening.

"Make sure your ass is open down the field, I'm lookin for you"

He nodded his head and gave an O.K. sign with his hand to indicate he was going to follow the captains orders.

With all the players in formation, Number 5 called out the play numbers and the ball was hiked to him. It all happens so quickly, once he gets a hold of the ball, he hops back so he can get a good look at the open field.

He sees Jun, number 21, another valuable player on the team, down the field, but it's too risky. Once he sees the number he's been searching for, he launches the ball from his grip and does a silent prayer that it makes it to where hes planned for it to go. On the other end, the receiver sees the ball coming in his direction and makes the bold move to grab it. With the ball securely in his arms, he makes a mad dash for the in zone.

His run is cut short though, when his route is blocked by a defender on the opposing team. He goes down with a pretty nasty hit to the gut by another male of a much larger size than himself.

With a huff, he throws the ball to the referee and grabs the hand that was held out to him. With a clap on the back, they got back in line for another play. The next play is successful in getting them in the in zone, but that only gets them one point away, and they need to get two to walk away from the game victorious. They don't want to tie and go into overtime. They want to win.

The captain makes the decision to call a time out from the field and the team finds themselves once again in a huddle, but this time number 5 is the guy in the middle that's giving them the game plan.

"We've gotta go for it boys, we didn't come here to go into OT." The team nodded, understanding what he was saying was true and they'd be damned if that's how this game would turn out. With a final yell, and a cliche action of putting their hands in the middle, the team broke and made their way to their positions for the, hopeful, final play of the game.

After a quick scan of his surroundings, the quarterback made his decision and began to squat into the hike position. Once he called the numbers, the ball was in his hands. With quick observations, he spots the same receiver he's been relying on the whole game but as soon as he was about to let the ball go, number 8 gets dropped to the ground by a much bigger lineman. Panicking, the captains eyes search for another option. Just when he was about to give up and take the sack, he spots number 21 off to the side of the field. In a split second decision, he changes his direction, and hurles the ball to the open player.

Closing his eyes and crossing his fingers, number 5 sent, yet another, silent plead to any higher power that would listen. When he gained the courage to look up, he saw his whole team running on to the field. With a wide grin and shaky hands, he took of his helmet and began running to meet his team half way. The crowd was going wild and the opposing team began to make their way off the field and out of the stadium. They had done it. They won.

•

"That was fucking incredible Johnny!"

With a chuckle and the raising of his hands as if to signal 'it was no big deal' Johhny Seo reached his group of friends that were waiting for him outside of the stadium entrance.

"Yeah, congrats _captain_."

Rolling his eyes, Johnny clasped his hands in a greeting with his friends that had come to support him at the game.

" Hey it wasn't all me, football is a team sport and I have one hell of a team that I get to play with," he said as he took his helmet fully off ran a hand through his drenched hair.

"Damn that was one of the most sappy things I've ever heard you say Young Ho, " his friend said as he took the helmet from his hands and began messing around with it.

"Don't call me that Taeyong, and give me back my helmet," he said while attempting to snatch his headgear back and rolling his eyes.

Taeyong chuckled and threw the helmet back to his friend. "Speaking of your team," Johnny turned around when his other friend had motioned to something or better yet someone behind him. Chuckling a bit, Johnny raised a hand to signify a high five to his fellow teammates that were approaching them.

"You were great out their captain, way to get it done."

Johnnys ears turned a light shade of pink at the sudden compliment, not that it didn't happen often, he just wasn't quite used to all the praises that had begun to surround him once he joined the team, and he didn't think he ever would. Smiling smugly, he went to put a hand on the receivers shoulder in a brotherly way.

"It was a team effort Mark, you Xiao Jun over here totally saved my ass during those last few plays." Turning to the left slightly, he looked at his other teammate and said, "you especially Jun, way to step up when you needed to."

The younger smiled brightly at the praise and bowed his head slightly with respect and replied. "You and coach are always hounding us to go out and get it done on the field, I was just playin the game, I also didn't wanna have to hear about it at the next practice."

With knowing laughs, the three teammates first bumped one another before Johnny was signaled by his other friends that it was time to head out.

"Well you two enjoy yourselves tonight, you earned it. I'll see you both bright and early tomorrow for workouts. Take care." And with that, they parted ways, all feeling a sense of pride inside their chests, not only for their school, but for themselves.

•

Johnny wasn't kidding when he said he'd see Mark and Xiao Jun bright and early the next morning, cause it was the next morning at the ass crack of dawn. With a huff, Johnny pushed the doors to one of the many gyms at the school open, and strode in only to quickly retract his steps as he realized he had walked in on the basketball team practicing for their upcoming season. With an eye roll, more at himself than anything, Johnny quickly went to turn and leave, but stopped when he heard someone call out for him.

"Yo, Johnny boy!"

A bit confused at first, Johnny pivoted on his feet and turned to face the voice that called for him. A smirk made its way onto his lips as he saw a few acquaintances he'd met from the sporting expo type deal that was held at the beginning of the school year. (He couldn't remember what it was called, he only went to it because his roommate was a track guy and he had mentioned it to him after he had shared his interest in joining the football team.) He'd met quite a few cool dudes from it and it definitely made it easier to integrate himself into the schools population.

"Hey Jae, what's shakin?"

With a crinkle of his nose and a airy laugh, the captain of the basketball team outstretched his hand and gave him a greeting.

"That was super cringe dude, how the hell do your teammates take you seriously on the field?"

Playfully rolling his eyes, Johnny squared his shoulders and attempted to make himself look bigger, if that was even possible at this point.

"Cause they know I could kick anybody's ass if they even so much as look at me the wrong way," he said with a smug look and a flip of his hair.

"Not Yukei, he could crush your ass in a fight, hell, I even think Jaemin could take your lanky ass in a few months," a new voice entered the conversation, and Johnny knew his face, but not so much his name.

What? He can't remember everyone ok?

"Yuta," The slim guy said, raising his head slightly in a nodding gesture. "It's alright if you don't remember, you met a bunch of people that day and I can only imagine the others you met on your first day here." Sighing with relief, Johnny felt the awkwardness slowly slip away as he relearned the information he should've remembered the first time. 'Yuta, I've gotta remember that,' he thought to himself.

After a few more minutes of gossip and talking about the game on Friday, which was the main reason why Jaehyun had called Johnny over, to congratulate him on the win. He also mentioned that some of the younger members on the team, their names were Jeno and Jisung, admired him quite a lot and it made Johnnys ego sky rocket. But sadly, Johnny knew he was going to be late, and he would probably get his ass chewed out by coach for it.

"Well it was nice seeing you guys but I gotta get to workouts, I don't need major bull from coach after last night."

Both basketball players laughed quietly as they said their goodbyes to the older male, as they had their own team to attend to.

Once they parted, Johnny exited the gym in a quick pace.

As he was walking down the halls of the school, with his head casted down to his phone, (he was looking at the schools social media posts about his teams win last night) his path was suddenly blocked, by a door being slammed in his face.

With a grunt, Johnny busted his ass on the tiled floor of the hallways.

"Holy shit! I'm so sorry!"

Groaning, Johnny tried to stand, only to be too out of it to do it by himself. He felt a hand grab his own as he was hauled up to his feet.

"I'm really sorry Johnny, I need to be more careful," the other male constantly apologized.

"Hey man it's ok I wasn't looking eith- wait how do you know my name?"

The other boy, who looked to be younger than himself but not by a lot, chuckles quietly as he fixed Johnnys jacket on his shoulders.

"Everyone knows you man, you're the quarterback."

Once he had regained his composure, Johnny fixed himself and finally got a good look at the person who basically assaulted him with a wooden door. He'd seen him before, maybe in his physics class, or was it calculus...?

" Hey, I know it's a heavy door, but you've taken worse hits on the field man," the other boy said snapping his fingers in-front of Johnnys eyes.

"Shit my bad man, um sorry I wasn't watching where I was going, and I hate to seem rude, but

I'm really late for practice," Johnny said walking around the other boy.

"Oh sorry to bother you, I'll get outta your way. See ya around," the latter said as he began to walk in the original direction he was headed before he hit the other with the door, but before he could get too far, someone called for someone behind him.

"Hey! What's your name?"

With a neutral look on the boys face, he turned around and gave the Captain a wave of his hand.

"It's really a weird one, but you can just call me Ten."

•

"I can't believe this!"

The whole class went silent and few turned their heads to look at the boy in the back who just had a outburst.

"Can't believe what Chenle?"

The boy, Chenle, rolled his eyes at his friend as he obviously wasn't paying attention to the past ten minutes of their one- sided conversation.

"Well if you payed attention haechan," the younger of the two grumbled, "you would know that our play was canceled due to the stupid basketball game!" His voice slightly rose at the end of his mini rant and once again, all eyes were on them.

"Ok you need to keep quiet, I don't need all of these people looking at me like I'm crazy like you."

With a slight slap to the shoulder, and a pouty haechan, Chenle went on to involve a few more of their classmates into his rant.

"Renjun, Yangyang, what do you two think about my crisis?"

Both boys turned their heads to look at the youngest of the four, and then to each other before silently arguing over who would respond. Sadly, Renjun lost their mute arrangement. Sighing, he spoke how he truly felt about the situation.

"Well Lele, there isn't much you can do about it now, but maybe you can bring it up to the student council, or even the board of directors"

He thought about the suggestion and it wasn't a bad one. Content with the answer he was given, Chenle went back to his work as did everyone else around him. He would make sure that damn basketball team knew he wasn't a force to be reckoned with.

•

Whoever had the idea to own a small coffee shop near a busy college campus was a fucking genius, and Doyoung owed them his life.

Though it was tough in the beginning, the place basically paid for itself, and with the help of his friends Kun and Jungwoo, the three were able to live comfortably off campus. They even had spending money, which for most college kids, was unheard of. The only downside was the actual working part. He hired a few other workers to help keep the cafe functioning while the three were in class, but they still had to help, not to mention the financial aspect of the whole thing.

It was quiet on a Wednesday afternoon, until the chim of the door opening signaled that someone was entering.

"Ah, right on time, The usual, Taeil?"

With a small smile, the customer, Taeil, nodded his head and replied quietly with a "yes please, thank you Doyoung."

Once his drink was complete, Doyoung brought it over to him and took the open seat across from him.

"So how's the studying going? You're not over working yourself, right?" Doyoung asked while propping his chin on his palm.

With a small pout, Taeil looked up and raised an eyebrow to the younger male, "Hey worrying about people is my job, ok? I'm the one who's studying to be a doctor here."

Rolling his eyes and standing up, Doyoung shoots one more pointed look at his older friend as he begins to wipe down tables.

"Hey Doyoung?"

Whipping his head around, Doyoung makes eye contact with Taeil who has an unreadable expression on his face.

"Yeah? Is everything ok? Is your drink bad?"

Shaking his head rapidly, Taeil takes a deep breath and continues, "No no it's perfect, it always is, it's just..." he pauses and thinks of the words to say next. Doyoung stops what he's doing and retakes his seat across from the latter and gives him his full attention. "You know you can tell me anything man, whats got you all spaced out?"

Taking a shaky breath, Taeil picks up his head and makes eye contact with his friend.

"Do you ever feel like something... malignant is going to happen, and there's nothing you can do to stop it?"

A worried look flashed over Doyoungs face as the words left his friends lips.

"Sometimes I get that feeling, but don't worry about it, nothing crazy ever happens around here, we'll all be just fine," he finishes his little speech with a smile and a small wave of his hand as he picks himself up and makes his way to the kitchen in the back.

"I hope."

~


	4. II

"Did you know your sneeze comes out of your mouth at over 100 miles per hour?"

"Dude...what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Sooyoung rolled her eyes as she approached her usual lunch table. 'They're already at it and it's not even first period yet.' She thought to herself as she dropped her bag by her feet and began to settle herself next to two of her bickering friends.

"Soo, tell Yerin I'm not 'full of useless knowledge, and a loser' cause I'm not," the friend to her left complained.

'I'm too old for this shit'

Rolling her eyes, again, at her friends childish behavior, she raised an eyebrow at them both.

"My ass hasn't even hit my chair yet and you're already arguing like an old married couple."

Both parties gave her a disapproving look and went to counter her argument, but before they could, the other boy sitting at the table opened his mouth.

"You missed it earlier man, I thought Hyuck was going to throw hands if Yerin didn't stop teasing him."

"I wasn't teasing him, I was simply giving my feedback on the situation." Yerin was quick to fire back after the sudden dig. "If he didn't want my opinion, he should've kept his trap shut"

With a low whistle, Sooyoung finally sat down in her chair and integrated herself into the conversation. "Damn Yerin, who pissed in your cereal this morning?" Sooyoung said reaching her arm across the table to grab a piece of toast, only to have it slapped away at the last second.

"Hey! Don't hog the toast Chan, I'm hungry!"

Shaking his head, Chan cut her a piece of his breakfast.

"You're always hungry, do they not feed you in that fucking mansion of yours?"

Smiling triumphantly as the food was placed in-front of her, Sooyoung quickly downed it.

"Slow down there Soo, it's not your last meal," Minhyuck said handing the girl a napkin so she could wipe her face.

Finishing it quickly, Sooyoung wiped her mouth and took a sip of someone's coffee...at-least that's what it tasted like, but who knew with these people.

"Anyways, how is everyone doing, anything special happen in the past 18 hours we haven't seen each other," asked Minhyuck checking his watch to see how long it had been since the friends had last seen each other, while his chin propped up on his other palm.

The three other friends chorused with no's because they were all equally as boring and swamped with homework as each other.

"Did you guys know th-," Minhyuck started before being cut off by the doors to the cafeteria being slammed open to reveal a bunch of boys who Sooyoung quickly made out to be the football team... or were they the wrestling team? She didn't know, and really didn't need to. They were all a bunch of meat heads that couldn't offer her anything, so she saw no use to learn anything about them. It's harsh, but Sooyoung didn't like to sugarcoat things that needed to be said. Especially if was the truth.

"Ladies and gentleman, May I present to you, your soon to be champions, Seoul Knights football team!"

The room erupted with cheers and chants of the teams name and a few players names as well. Sooyoungs friends clapped and whistled along with the rest of the student body, while she spent the moment stealing another piece of Chans toast. What? His mom makes some good toast, ok?

"And now, presenting to you, your star quarterback... Johnny Seo!"

Said boy stood up on a table and began bowing and waving to his fellow classmates as everyone around him began a synchronized chant of his name.

"He's fuckin hot," Yerin whispered close to Sooyoungs ear, causing her to flinch as she wasn't expecting her friend to be in such close proximity to herself.

Taking a closer look at the male in question, Sooyoung scrunched her nose and shook her head. "Eh, I've seen better," she said in a low tone.

Yerin rolled her eyes. Sooyoung was never the type of friend she could go to and talk about boys with. For the longest time, Yerin thought Sooyoung was gay. Not that it would've changed their friendship, Yerin loved everyone no matter what their sexuality was. Sooyoung would've still been her main hoe, Yerin just never understood why the other girl never spoke of someone of the opposite sex. Come to find out, she just had really high standards and expectations for men. She'd also never been exposed to that kind of a relationship with someone. But hell, Yerin even ended up learned a thing or two from her younger friend. None the less, Yerin always asked for Sooyoungs opinions. Sometimes, it was even the deciding factor on who she would talk to or go out with.

But this time, Sooyoung is dead wrong.

Johnny Seo is hot.

'Maybe she didn't get a good enough look at him,' Yerin thought to herself as she continued to enjoy the unexpected festivities in the cafeteria.

"Ugh, can everyone shut the fuck up already? It's not like they've won anything yet," Sooyoung complained as the loud noises in the overcrowded room were giving her a headache.

"You just don't like sports, maybe if you went and actually watched a game, you'd learn to appreciate this kinda stuff more," Chan said patting Sooyoung on the back as she placed her head down onto her folded arms. He was right sadly. Sooyoung couldn't even think of a time she had ever been inside the schools enormous stadium. Hell, she hadn't even set foot inside one, of what seemed like hundreds, of gyms that were located around the campus.

"Why would I do that when I could just stay home and do...oh I don't know...anything else? It's not like I know anyone on the team, and they sure as hell don't need to know who I am," She said pointing at her own chest. "Those boys only do two things, play football and play girls. I've got more important shit to do." With her speech complete, Sooyoung places her head back down.

Her friends all gave each other knowing looks as they once again returned their attention to the team that was going over some fundraising events they would be holding in the upcoming weeks. With her head still down, Sooyoung began to think of a few things, one of those being how much she really doesdislike that damn football team and their freaky tall quarterback. But don't worry, Sooyoung wasn't the only one who had sour feelings against the team. Across the room, a group of less than impressed boys were sharing similar feelings.

"I loathe them, all of them."

"They're like dogs, its like a pack and their leader"

"That's some harsh shit man, but it's the truth."

"I heard he was seeing a teacher, like seeing a teacher..."

"I've met the quarterback, he's actually not to bad you guys."

All the boys around the tables heads snap up to look at the odd opinion out.

"Where could you have possibly met him Ten?"

"Well, technically I hit him in the face with the door to the dance room, but that's not the point. He was really chill about it and he didn't seem like a total dick."

With a few groans, a couple sighs, and a ball of paper being thrown at him, Ten gave up trying to defend Johnny.

He knew no matter how much he talked them up, his friends would never have any respect for the players on the football team. Not that he had any for them either, it was something else just for Johnny.

He admired him quite a lot. It might have been the way he carried himself, or the way he easily spoke to anyone he met. But Ten knew, it was mainly the way he'd seen Johnny act outside of school without his friends around. That's what really made his opinion of the boy do a complete 180. He'll be honest, most players on the team were not model students, or even citizens for that matter. But he guesses there was something about the way he saw Johnny doing extra work outside of school for different organizations that made him realize he really shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

"Dude, stop staring, you're going to freak them out."

With a huff, Ten sat straight in his chair and looked around at his friends at the table.

"Listen boys, all I'm saying is don't shit on him until you meet him." He raised his hands to signify his 'surrender' and went back to what he was doing before being interrupted by the team.

"I don't have to meet him, or any of them for that matter, to know how they are. All of them are the same."

"With that attitude Lele, you'll never make new friends."

Puffing his cheeks out and crossing his arms, Chenle made a face as if to say 'do you really wanna try me right now?'

"Don't give me that look, you know it's true. Maybe Ten's right about the team and we should give them a fair shot."

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Chenle on this one. I have a few of them in some of my classes and he's spot on. They're all just as bad, if not worse than each other." Getting in a low whisper, haechan leaned in close to his friends, "I don't even think some of them can read," he said with a smirk. Chenle and him shared a knowing look and a fist bump before they were, once again, told off.

"Both of you stop, it's not nice to talk like that."

Rolling his eyes, Haechan had a serious question he needed to have answered.

"Kun, did I come out of your vagina?" Haechan asked with a genuine look of innocence spread across his face.

"What the- no, no of course not I don't even ha-"

"Then stop acting like my fucking mom. I've already got one, whom I love very much, so don't try to replace her."

After a swift slap to the back of haechans head and a few snickers from his table mates, Kun went on to give the rest of his speech.

"Look guys, all I'm trying to say is we shouldn't jump to conclusions about these guys. This a new year. Heck, this whole table only just met each other a few months ago, and you didn't make assumptions then. Why start making them now? Who knows, maybe they're really nice guys who just enjoy physical activity and sports?" He finished that with a proud smile on his face, only to have it slide off when Haechan opened his mouth.

"You know what guys, maybe he's right, and next we'll all start flying to school cause we have fucking superpowers! Kun if you're gonna talk or act like that, do it in the drama room with Chenle," Haechan commented with a smug look.

Kun threw his hands up and stopped trying to convince his younger friends.

Oh well, they were still young compared to him. They still didn't see things the way that he did. He knew those boys weren't bad people, he actually knew a few of them himself and the ones he'd met were all really nice. He'd just have to get them to meet each other. That would change their minds. Maybe he could ask Ten to help with that. He could introduce them to that quarterback, and Kun could finally teach those kids a lesson.

Yeah, that would be nice.

~


	5. III

"Alright Wong, you're up next!"

Popping his neck and giving his signature cocky smirk, the wrestler got into position in front of his opponent. The gym was dead silent as the two males approached each other on the mat.

The other male, his challenger, mirrored his stance and threw him an arrogant look.

"You're going down Wong," he said leaning in closer to the other. "I don't even know why your ass bothers showing up anymore. We all know I'm the best here. Anyone in this gym could take you down, even Coach," his opponent said chuckling. "Shit, I bet you'd get dropped by a freshman."

With a scoff and the raising of his chin, Yukhei didn't let the taunting from his teammate get to him. He kept his cool and readied himself for the whistle that would signal the start of their match. The team crowded closer around the two, as they all knew it would be a good match. It was between the two best on the team. Even though, everyone knew who the real best on the team was.

"Come on Yukehi, beat his ass!"

"Yeah Lucas, wipe that smug look off his fucking face!"

"Don't let him get to you captain, keep your eyes on the prize!"

Captain

That's all Yukhei needed to hear. All he wanted to hear from his teammates. Hearing them call him their leader was something he'd never be able to get tired of.

It had been a team vote between the two males. Being captain meant you would have to headline matches, and help the team with any other issues it had. Both were up for the challenge and wanted the position, but it was a landslide win for Yukhei.

It was no secret that the boy was a very out going and upbeat individual. It was just that not everyone got to see a different side of him that his team did.

Now, yes he was cocky, and yes he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he meant really well and was always there for anyone who needed him. He was constantly stayingafter practice. It didn't matter how late it was. Whether it was to help coach with match work or cleaning up the different bodily fluids that were leftover from that days activities. He's cleaned up enough blood, spit, and what he really hopes is sweat to never dog on anyone with a custodial job, he's got mad respect for those people. He'd also hang back if someone needed some more one-on-one practice, or even if they just needed someone to talk to.

Yukhei was a team player, and he firmly believed that the key factor to being a good leader was listening and helping your teammates, and that's exactly what he did. He was constantly checking in on the others to make sure they were eating well, sleeping enough, or how their last quiz went. Some were weirded out by how much he cared, but others were quite grateful. It was nice knowing you had someone that you looked up to looking out for you.

"Alright boys, you know the rules. Don't play dirty just cause there's no refs, I'm lookin at you Choi," coach said placing the whistle between his lips and pointing at the boy infront of Yukhei. "Wong, go easy on him, I don't need anyone gettin hurt before the season starts," coach added, giving him a knowing look. It was true, sometimes, Yukhei just forgot his own strength and would go overboard. No one on the team knew of the incident. That's because he swore to never let anyone ever find out. It only happened once, and he swore to never speak or think of it again. But, somehow it always found a way to invade his thoughts. Most of the time they appeared a night causing all thoughts of sleep to dissipate.

With a deep breath the coach raised his hands.

The whistle sounded and Choi immediately threw himself towards Yukhei.

This obviously wasn't the first time the two had opposed one another, so Yukhei had learnt over time how the other male liked to sparr. He always did the same thing. All Yukhei had to do was tire him out enough that he could get on top of him.

Yukhei allowed Choi to get on top and work him onto his back as he began to attempt to pin him to the mat. After a few more boring minutes for Yukhei, he felt his opponent begin to tire out and his pressure on the latter was giving out. Taking the opportunity, Yukhei wasted no time in flipping their positions so that he was on top with Choi in a headlock. Flailing his arms around, Choi instinctively tapped out and the match was over.

Immediately hopping off and offering his hand out, Yukhei hauled the other male up and slapped his back.

"Good match boys! Everyone hit the showers and head home!"

The team clapped and gave their captain high fives and pats on the back. Yukhei enjoyed the attention, but there was always something else that came along with winning.

Moving his head to look back, he saw Choi, who's name was actually Mino, mouth a 'congrats' as he smirked at the younger and turned to leave so he could hit the showers alone.

With a heavy sigh, Yukhei felt the same awful feeling in his chest that he got whenever he beat someone in a match. Was it weird? Did anyone else get that feeling? It felt like he was suffocating slowly. Why did he feel like that? Was it because he made someone look and feel bad? Is there something wrong with him? Was he a bad person?

Cutting off his deep thoughts, a very heavy slap came across his shoulders and he automatically knew who the person was.

"That was awesome Lucas! Did you see his face? Whatta baby, all talk and no action!"

Shaking his head good neutrally, Yukhei, or Lucas, as his friends called him, turned to face his younger friend and gave him a pointed look.

"Thank you Nana, but don't talk like that, it makes you just as bad as him," he said while walking over to the water fountain at the far corner of the gym.

Rolling his eyes with a small smile, his smaller friend followed and leaned his back on the wall adjacent to the fountain.

"Ok spill, who's the new kid you've been hanging out with recently, cause that attitude is not the one I'm used to?"

After taking a couple of large sips, Lucas picked his upper half up and straightened himself to look at his friend with a serious expression.

"No 'new guy' I just," he sighed, not really knowing how to explain the feelings that were coursing through him. "I just don't wanna seem like a douche, and I especially don't wanna encourage you or the rest of the guys to act like that, it's not the kind of Captain I wanna be," he finished while pointing at his friend and the rest of their teammates that were littered across the gymnasium.

As his teammate was about to argue back, Yukhei stopped him with a stern expression.

"Listen Jaemin, I'm not saying you can't be confident out on the mat," he said taking a deep breath. "I want you to be like that, I want you to be proud of the sport you represent, but acting like a you're the best and walking around like your shit doesn't stink is not being confident, it's being a jackass." He ran a hand through his sweaty hair and placed it on his hip. "I don't want anyone on this team, especially you," he said putting his pointer finger on the younger boys chest and poking. "Acting like that. At all."

Finishing his speech, Yukhei grabbed a towel, placed his hands in his sweatpants pocket, and started making his way to the showers.

"Hey Lucas?"

Swiftly turning around as he began to walk backwards, Yukhei lifted his head as if to say 'go on'.

"Thanks... for everything you do for the team, and me," Jaemin said smiling shyly. The younger had always looked up to the captain, and wished to be just like him one day. He was lucky to be on the team and was proud to have Lucas as his teacher. Grinning pridefully, Yukhei continued walking until his back hit the door.

"Anytime Nana, be safe, I'll see you tomorrow." And with that he hit the door with his rear, and made his way to the locker room.

•

"Yeah... what? No! Yerin that's not how that works!" Sooyoung punched the code into the key panel that opened her gate.

"I don't even know what that means but ok, go on," she said as she walked the long drive way up to her house.

On her way home, Yerin had called Sooyoung with a "crisis".

If there was one thing that the two girls had differing opinions on, it would be the definition of the term crisis.

To Sooyoung, a crisis was a time of intense danger or even a time when a difficult decision had to be made. She'd only been involved in one of two, but she felt like she had a firm grasp on the term, and how to use it in her vocabulary.

But to Yerin, a crisis was not being able to find an outfit to wear to a party, which to her was a 'difficult decision'. Sooyoung just played along.

"Just wear a different skirt, or better yet wear pants, you never know with people nowadays," Sooyoung said as she approached her front door. She took out her keys and inserted it into the lock, twisting slightly.

"I'm sure you look perfect Yerin, just go out and have fun," saying that, she opened her front door, not noticing the two individuals standing near the entrance waiting for her arrival.

"You know I don't like parties, but that shouldn't stop you from going out, text me when you get home and drink one for me ok?"

Ending the call, she slipped off her shoes andplaced her phone in her back pocket.

Sooyoung turned around and was greeted by the two figures standing at the end of the hallway. Not expecting anyone to be home besides her and Hyerim, she slightly jumped and let out a less than pleasant sound before realizing who it was.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she let out an airy laugh as she walked towards the two people with open arms.

"You guys scared me, Next time give a girl a warning," she said giving her mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Her parents smiled fondly at her, both excited to see their only child after being away for a week due to business.

Sooyoung let go of her mother and turned to her dad. She gave him a good neutral slap on the back silently saying 'welcome back, old sport.'

She had always been close to her dad, after all, he was the one to get her hooked on working out and bettering her fighting skills. Sooyoung had plenty of memories from all the times they were at the gym.

"Sup dude, hows work?" She asked.

Even after they would come home from being away for a while, it was never hard for the family to pick up right where they left off.

"It's been alright you know, same old same old," her dad replied holding up finger guns and waving them around. Sooyoung let out a snort of laughter.

It doesn't matter how old he gets, he still tries to act like a teenager.

"Ew, dad that was really lame," she said shaking her head still laughing. Don't do that ever again, you're too old."

Her father faked a look of shock and disgust.

"Old? I'm not old," he said before losing the facade and putting his daughter into a light choke hold. Their laughter could be heard throughout the house, as Sooyoung flailed her arms as her dad kept his hold on her. Her mother watched on as the two most important people in her life were laughing. She loved her family, and would do anything to keep them safe.

Eventually, Sooyoung 'tapped out' and her father let her go. Once she was free, Sooyoung smiled a genuine smile as she looked at her both of her parents.

They were still young compared to most of the people who had kids Sooyoungs age, but that didn't mean they weren't strict or hard on her when they needed to be. They had high expectations of her, and she exceeded them all. Their daughter was perfect in their eyes, and although they couldn't alway be there for her, they were always thinking about her and how she was doing.

Her parents had met in college and their relationship moved along quickly. They graduated, got married, and both found jobs quite quickly. They both enjoyed what they studied, as that's what introduced them in the first place, and both took their jobs very seriously as it could effect other peoples lives. Both had put their jobs first, but that all changed when her mother fell pregnant with Sooyoung. They both took time off to raise their daughter together and give her the best upbringing they could.

They both eventually went back to work as Sooyoung grew older, and the need for their assistance grew larger. Sooyoung didn't mind that her parents weren't home, she knew what they did was important to them and as long as they were happy, she was happy.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you two on this wonderful Thursday night?" Sooyoung questioned as she was curious of her parents unexpected visit. Not that she wasn't happy to see them, she was just nosy.

"Well, we just wanted to come in a check up on you. How have you been feeling, sweetheart?" Her mother asked as she held her arms and got a good look at her. Sooyoung smiled at her mom, "I've been fine, a-little tired but, what's new."

Next it was her dads turn to ask questions, and of course, they involved her social life.

"How are your friends? Have you made any new ones, you got a boyfriend yet," he asked raising a brow. Sooyoung looked at both of her parents with a curious expression.

"Ok, what's going on, those aren't the normal questions I get when you two come home." She said pointing at them accusingly.

They turn to look at each other, silently speaking with their eyes. Her mom turned to her taking a deep breath and grabbing her hands.

"We just want make sure you're ok, that's all," she said quietly.

Sooyoung nodded her head and held her mothers hands in her own. She could tell something was wrong, but couldn't quite figure it out. Before she could question it, her mother asked her, not a another question, but a request.

"Sooyoung, if something, anything, at all starts to happen to you, you promise you'll tell your father and I?"

To say she was confused would be an understatement. Sooyoung was beyond perplexed. This wasn't the first time her parents had brought up this mysterious topic of "promising to tell them if any inexplicable things" happened to her.

But things did happen.

Things happen, all the time, but Sooyoung had convinced herself a long time ago that it was just a part of becoming a young adult. And even though she knew that wasn't the case, Sooyoung didn't want to worry her parents. She also hadn't quite prepared herself for what she might discover when she did speak up.

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know a thing about wrestling


	6. IV

Whoever had the idea to make the work load for medical students unbelievably extensive and tedious on Friday nights. Their mom's a hoe.

It had already been a long week without all of the extra work they were assigned just ten minutes before they were dismissed for the weekend.

He'd accidentally misdiagnosed his patient on Monday, lost a chart on Tuesday, and he didn't even want to think about what he had to do on Thursday.

But now added on top of that, he had five other assignments due by the next class, which was Wednesday.

So, here he was, sitting in his apartment, at his desk piled high with files, his notes, and a large coffee that's pretty much empty. All Taeil wanted was to spend the night eating take out and watching a movie, but plans change, he guessed.

Interning at the local hospital that was near campus was an amazing opportunity that Taeil was absolutely grateful for, but it did have its faults. He was constantly attending to patients and their families who were either rude, or less than grateful for the services they were receiving. Not to mention the last time Taeil remembered going to bed at a decent hour.

But those things are under the 'terms and conditions' section packet you get when you sign up to be a Med student, or it damn well should be, in Taeils opinion at least.

Heaving a sigh and leaning back in his desk chair, Taeil ran his hands through his hair as he stretched his limbs. Taking another breath and looking at the work in front of him, he picked up his coffee cup and went to drink, only to get a few final drops. With a small pout, Taeil threw the cup into the small bin that was sitting under his desk and stood up. He couldn't finish all of this without something to keep himself awake. He needed caffeine, and he knew where to go.

He made his way to the front door and slipped his shoes on along with a light jacket. His friends coffee shop was only a few blocks away and it was nice to get out and get some fresh air. Oh, and he gets to see his friends too.

Locking his door behind him, Taeil walked down the hall to the elevator and went down to the lobby of his apartment building. When he arrived outside, the cool air hit his face causing him to shiver and zip up his hoodie.

He began his walk along the deserted streets. It usually wasn't this quiet, but seeing as it was a Friday night and most people had plans, Taeil figured it would be peaceful journey to the familiar coffee shop. Or so he thought.

When he had reached the halfway mark of his walk, Taeil began to feel like someone was following him. Not wanting to jump to gun, he slightly turned his head so he could use his peripheral vision to see what the figure behind him looked like.

He saw a guy, like a really big guy wearing a ball cap. He wasn't wearing the attire Taeil had expected though. He was wearing a nice shirt, a suit jacket, and a pair of slacks with loafers.

'That's weird, why would a guy with that kinda wardrobe wanna rob a broke college student?'

Taking a deep breath, Taeil calmed himself and steadied his pace. He was probably just jumping to conclusions and needed to relax, but just to be sure, he decided to take a back route that not too many people knew about.

Instead of keeping straight, Taeil took a sharp right down a less lit up street. The man swiftly followed, and Taeil swore his heart stopped.

He quickly made another turn in hopes of losing him, but the man kept up with his pace.

'I'm so fucked'

He began to panic and all he could think about was why it had to be him. He really should've just stayed home. Damn his need for caffeine.

He got back to the street he originally started on and quickened his pace to try and eluded the other male. It didn't do much, it only made him look like he really had to use the restroom, and the guy was still hot on his tail.

Taeil sighed in relief as his destination came into sight. Even if the man still followed him into the shop, he wouldn't be alone as his friends would be in there with him.

'Sorry guys, but I'm not going out alone'

For the first time during the incident, Taeil, grew a pair of balls, and turned around fully to see the person who had been tormenting him for the past ten minutes. Both stopping in their tracks, the men had a silent stand off. The pair remained unmoved, both waiting for the other to make a move. One of them eventually did, and it wasn't Taeil.

The larger male began making his way towards the other, and before he could think about his actions, Taeil turned on the balls of his feet and broke out into a mad sprint towards the coffee shop. He'd worked to hard and cleaned too many bed pans to die at the hands of some crazy businessman.

He ran as fast as his legs allowed and he turned his head back continuously to see if the other was still following. He was. The shop was getting closer, but so was the guy.

'How is it possible for a guy that big to run this fast?'

It didn't matter though, Taeil was already reaching for the door to the shop.

He busted in and the three people behind the counter all stopped what they were doing to look up. All of them had confused looks on their faces, but before they could ask their friend what the hell he was doing, Taeil fell to the floor of the shop and tried to calm his breathing.

Rushing over and kneeling in front of the boy, Doyoung quickly put his hands on Taeils shoulders and attempted to calm him down and find out what happened.

"Hey Taeil, breathe, it's ok you're safe. What happened out there? What were you running from?" Doyoung continued to ask questions while kun went and got Taeil some water.

Jungwoo and Doyoung helped him into a chair so he wouldn't be on the floor, as kun came out with the cup of water in hand. With shaky hands, Taeil took the water and squeaked out a small 'thank you' before placing it to his lips. He slowly sipped on the water until it was gone and kun took it from him and placed it on the table beside them.

They all remained silent and his friends looked at one another while they waited for Taeil to explain what happened.

Taking a shaky breath, Taeil lifted his eyes to meet Doyoungs gaze, only to drop them right after due to embarrassment.

"I was on my way over here... and this guy... this fucking huge guy just came outta nowhere and started following me. I-I tried to lose him in the alleyways but he just kept following me. I don't know what he wanted but I just started running until I got here," he finished in a small voice.

His friends were silent, still trying to soak up the information that was given. They each had different looks on their faces, but Jungwoos was the one that caught Taeils eye. He just had this look and the older just couldn't describe it. But one thing he did know, he didn't like it.

Doyoung was about to speak up when Jungwoo spoke first.

"Was the guy wearing... like a suit almost?" He asked and Taeils eyes widened comically. It felt like the breath had been knocked out of his lungs as he a Jungwoo held eye contact.

"H-how... how did you know that?" Taeil asked. He was starting to feel lightheaded at this point.

"I was walking from class a few days ago and some guy in a suit was following me, I figured I must've done something so I turned around to ask him. Then I saw a gun and a badge, but it wasn't a police badge, it was like some government organization. So I booked it all the way home."

Something clicked in Doyoungs head. "Is that why you came home sweaty and jumpy on Tuesday?" He asked looking at his younger friend. Jungwoo nodded his head and looked down, "I didn't say anything cause I just though it was a freak thing, but now that I know I'm not the only one, I wanna find out what's going on."

"Me too," Taeil piped up, "I wanna know who he was and what the hell he wanted from me."

The four boys all looked at one another but no one knew what to say. They all had so many questions.

'Why them?'

'Who were they?'

'What did they want with them?'

'Were they following anyone else?'

No one knew what was going on, but the most important, those two weren't the only ones that were being kept tabs on. They were all being watched. Their every moves, monitored.

All twenty-two of them.

~


	7. V

"You know, if you hide in a gym your whole life, you'll never have one."

Sooyoung rolled her eyes as she finished her solo session at the weight gym at the school. It was a nice gym with plenty of useful equipment. It was the only gym Sooyoung didn't dread thinking about, she actually found it quite peaceful. It had a few machines, but it was more for one on one training with another person, and even though she'd love a sparring partner, she wouldn't have anyone to ask.

"Yeah Soo, come on, we're all gonna go to this new coffee shop that's right near campus. A kid in my class said it was really good, and mama needs some caffeine." Yerin had been trying to convince Sooyoung to leave for the past twenty minutes. It wasn't working.

Sooyoung walked over to her bag on the side of the gym where there was also a fountain and a few benches. She reached for her towel and wiped the sweat on her forehead. The girl took a seat on a bench close by and placed her head down, trying to calm her breathing. She had been at it for a few hours now and she was feeling good. Now she had to get her friends off her back so she could keep feeling good.

"You guys go, I don't wanna keep you waiting, and besides it's too late for me to have coffee.

But have fun and let me know how it is, ok?" Sooyoung lifted her head, trying to give her friends a convincing smile. She loved them dearly, but she really just wanted to work out alone.

Though they didn't buy it, but her friends knew her well enough to not push it, that would just make it worse. The three of them looked at one another before silently agreeing on their plan.

"Alright Soo, but if you change your mind," Chan began while walking away with the other two who had joined him. "You know where to find us."

With that, Sooyoung was once again alone in the gym, and that's how she planned to keep it. It's not that she liked being alone, wait no, that's exactly what it was. Being alone meant she didn't have to worry about acting a certain way or trying to please anyone. She didn't have to be like that around her friends, but after awhile, everyone gets tired of their friends. Right?

Closing her eyes and catching her breath, Sooyoung got up and made her way back to the mat where there was a sparring dummy set up. Cracking her neck and shaking her body out, she got into her stance and prepared herself to strike. She was analyzing her "opponent" trying to find out the best way to approach this. Completely zoning out, Sooyoung hadn't heard the door open, nor did she feel a pair of eyes watching her every move.

She continually struck the dummy with a constant force and quick jabs until she was out of breath. She stepped back and took a moment to calm her breathing, still oblivious to the male in the room.

He wondered if she knew he was there, but once she started mumbling to herself, he knew that wasn't the case.

"Come on Sooyoung, you've got this. Don't show weakness. You're not weak. You can't be."

The male scrunched his face at the last statement that left her lips.

Of course you can be weak, knowing you weaknesses helps make you stronger.

He silently continued to watch her as she went in for another round. He had to admit, she was a good fighter. She had clean sharp movements, and a good stance. He'd seen her around, most people at school did.

She was quiet, and had good grades. Sooyoung had always kept to herself, she didn't see a need for having a large amount of friends who didn't really care for her. She wasn't the stereo typical type of popular, but most knew her name and face. She was a different kind of beautiful. She held herself well, had long hair and a sharp jaw that made her other features very prominent. To her, looks were just a physical attribute, but her mental and emotional properties were just as, if not more important.

Not many knew of her wealth and status because she never used it as an advantage over others. Most of the male population saw her to be a badass, and watching this little session was plenty of confirmation for the boy. The females saw her as a threat, for what reason she didn't know, nor care.

To him she was a lot of things, but he'd never met her personally, so he decided not to jump the gun. He felt a little creepy just standing there, but before he could open his mouth, Sooyoung whipped her head around meeting his eyes. He quickly started to panic and tried to explain himself, only to see the girl on the mat with a smirk on her face.

"I am so sorry, I was going to say something I promise." He kept his eyes down, feeling intimidated under the girls playful look.

She kept her smirk as she straightened her posture. "It's ok, I'm glad you didn't interrupt me, then I would've been pissed." She fixed her ponytail and rolled shoulders. The boy kept his gaze locked with hers, not sure what say next.

Sooyoung May have looked pissed, but in reality was more surprised than anything. She didn't know anyone else knew the doors to this place were kept unlocked. And she did say she wanted a sparring partner.

"Are you just gonna stand there, or are you give me hand?" She raised and eyebrow towards the boy who quickly composed himself and dropped his bag by the edge of mats. He approached the girl and got behind the dummy to hold it in place. She gave him a look, asking if he was ready. He gave a short nod and Sooyoung began another round.

The boy could see she was losing her breath quickly, and knew that it was due to her posture. She was too hunched over and it was restricting her air flow. He had the same issue when he first started sparring too, his friend was the one to point it out, and now he would do the same.

"You should keep your shoulders up more, it'll take the weight off you chest and lungs, allowing you to breath easier." He continued to hold the dummy to the best of his abilities. She was strong and her hits were just as hard as they looked.

She halted her movements and looked at the boy in front of her with a questionable gaze.

Sooyoung had been training for years, and no one had ever called her out like that. It was weird, and she didn't know how to feel about it. Not that she minded, there's no hurt in trying, everyone has their own tricks, and fewer are nice enough to share them with others.

Keep their eye contact, Sooyoung adjusted her posture to accommodate they males suggestion. It felt weird and uncomfortable, but she did feel her chest open up and it allowed her breathing to calm quickly.

With a new found energy, Sooyoung quickly threw a punch at the dummy, followed by a quick kick. Keeping her new found posture was difficult, but it did help with her breathing. Shocked, Sooyoung pulled back and relaxed her shoulders.

"Damn, how did you know that?" She asked placing her hands on her hips, she was drained at this point and knew she needed to pace herself. She didn't want to pass out, especially not around this guy, he'd probably freak.

He smirked, feeling proud of himself for remembering something his friend taught him for once. "My friends and I were helping each other with tryouts at the beggining of the year, and I picked up a few breathing tips." He looked down at the dummy he had been holding. He let go and walked towards his bag to get his water. "That one always worked for me on the court, so I figured I'd share my secret," he said as he popped the cap to his water open and took a swig.

Sooyoung scoffed playfully and mirrored his smug look. "And what do I owe you for your most cherished secrets," She asked raising an eyebrow.

The boy played it cool on the outside, his cocky facade not faltering, even though he was quite anxious on the inside. He debated what to say next, not wanting to lose the opportunity to get to know the girl. He actually quite liked her, she wasn't snobby, or clingy like most girls who talked to him.

He wasn't looking for a fling, or just someone to hook up with, which is what Sooyoung had assumed when she first noticed him watching her, but his next request surprised both of them when it left his lips.

He tapped his chin pretending to think before he smiled and moved his gaze to hers.

"How about another sparring session tomorrow after school? Same time as today?"

His smile was bright, and his eyes lit up when he finished his question.

She was shocked to say the least, she half expected him to ask her back to his house, but this was a total one eighty for her. She really needed to stop jumping the gun with these kinds of things. She thought about his offer for a second, trying to find a reason to deny his offer, only to not find one. What did she have to lose? It would make training easier, but she did like her alone time.

"Alright," she fixed her posture. The boys head whipped up to look at the girl. He was shocked, he figured she would've told him off and stormed out, but this was not what he expected. He wasn't complaining though.

Sooyoung grabbed her bag near the wall and fixed herself up alittle before making her way to the door. "I'll see you in here tomorrow, same time. Don't be late." She continued to walk towards the door and once she reached it, she turned around and locked eyes with the boy.

"It was nice meeting you..."

"Yuta, it was nice to meet you too."

"It's Sooyoung, but something tells me you already knew that," she winked playfully and opened the door.

"I'll see you around Yuta, have a good one."

With a wave, she exited the gym, leaving the boy with a small smile. She was definitely different. A good different.


	8. VI

> "Dude, that's wild."

The group of boys stood around the lockers, taking up half of the hallway. They knew they should move, but didn't make the effort to. Maybe that's why people were giving them rude glares as they walked by.

"I know, I wanted to ask him what he thought he was doing, but when I turned around, he was gone."

All the males in the circle listened intensely as their friend relayed the events that had happened to him the night before.

"Wait, so he just followed you home? Like to find out where you live?" They were all concerned, seeing as there was this person just following some of them around. Like, who does that?

"Yeah, like I was walking to my dorm and he just followed me the whole time, he didn't even try to be discreet either," the boy paused, thinking back to the night before. "Like he wanted me to know he was there." The male talking shifted his weight, he had never had anything like that happen to him, and he had no idea what to do.

"Well if it happens again, call one of us. We don't need you getting hurt, or arrested for assault." All the others agreed with the statement, a few laughed because they knew what their friend was capable of.

"I will, and that goes for the rest of you as well, the fact that this guy has been following us around makes me creeped out. Do you think anyone else has seen him?" the boys all looked at each other, wondering the same thing. The school they attended was big, no doubt about that, it's common to find people who aren't enrolled walking around campus.

It still didn't sit well with a lot of people, but there isn't much they could do other than just being aware of their surroundings and the people in them.

"I don't know, and don't wanna hang around long enough to find out. But if you all don't mind, Im going to head out. I got a dinner tonight."

All the boys whistled and made other questionable noises, the boy gave them an unimpressed look.

"Aw don't be shy Jae, who's the unlucky girl?"

All the boys snickered as Jaehyun pushed his younger friend into the lockers behind him.

"Shut it Minhyung, I don't see you getting any, and besides, it's just a girl my parents keep trying to set me up with."

The boy rolled his eyes at the thought. It's not that he didn't love his parents, he just didn't need this bull shit. He was twenty two for Gods sake! He didn't need his mommy setting up play dates for him.

Minhyung placed a hand on his chest, faking his offense, "I'll have you know sir, I'm already in a very serious relationship." The boy raised his chin, attempting to make himself look bigger, only to fail miserably.

"Yeah a serious relationship with his right hand."

All the boys brokeout in fits of laughter, some on the brink of tears. Minhyung crossed his arms and pouted, they weren't wrong, but he didn't need Johnny calling him out like that. He'd had a few girlfriends, but football was his main priority at the moment, along with school of course.

"Aw I'm sorry Markie, don't be sad," Johnny pouted, he did feel bad for calling out the latter in front of everyone, he knew how Mark could get when he was around the older boys. He wasn't much younger than most of them, but there was still an age gap, not that it mattered to the others. The only one it bothered was Mark. He wanted to be like them, to be cool and make his name known to the school.

While Johnny was attempting to hug Mark to 'make it up to him', the others continued with their original conversation. The atmosphere was still serious. Most of the boys knew the severity of the situation their friend was in. A guy following you around, knowing where you live and go to school no something to take lightly.

After a few more moments, and Mark giving up and allowing Johnny to back hug him, the friends began to quiet down.

"Hey what time is it?"

Jaehyun looked down at his watch and was about to give an answer, only to be beaten by Johnny with his phone in hand.

"It's 3:58, why?"

Jaehyun shot Johnny an annoyed expression. The older just stuck his tongue out. Yep, he was definitely the oldest.

With an eye roll, Jaehyun turned back towards his teammate, "why Yuta?" He asked. The other male fixed his bag and began to back away from the group.

"I gotta go, but I'll see you guys tomorrow after practice so we can get dinner, later," but before he could leave completely, his friends needed their questions answered.

"Dude, where do you go everyday? Like you've been doing this for weeks." All his friends agreed. They were all curious as to where the basketball player was going in the afternoons.

Yuta shook his head, he didn't tell them because he knew they would take it the wrong way. They always did.

"I told you, I'm going to the gym, I have to keep up with you somehow," he said nodding his head towards Jaehyun. He wasn't lying. He really was going to the gym to train, but not for what his friends thought.

He had been going to the same gym everyday at the same time and practicing. It wasn't anything more.

With that said, Yuta refixed the bag on his shoulder, and gave his friends high fives before heading towards the last gymnasium on the left.

He made his way towards the south part of the school. The boy was very familiar with all of the gyms that the school had, he'd been in just about all of them. Making his way down the hall, Yuta found himself checking behind him quite often. He still felt uneasy about the whole situation. The boy wouldn't know what to do if something like that happened to him.

He reached the door to the gym and opened it slowly, not wanting to startle anyone who might've been in there, but to his surprise, no one else was there.

'That's weird, she's usually always here before me.'

Sooyoung was always punctual, she hated being late. It was rude. Yuta knew this about her, it reminded him of the time he got held up on the court with one of the freshman on the team, he arrived ten minutes late to their sparring session and Sooyoung went on a tangent about how being late was one of her biggest pet peeves. Let's just say, Yuta was always on time or early from then on.

Not thinking to much into it, Yuta decided to wait a few minutes to see if she'd turn up. A few minutes turned into half an hour, and Yuta knew he couldn't wait all night.

With a huff, he got to his feet and slung his bag over his shoulder. He was disappointed, but it wasn't the end of the world.

She must've been sick or something, she was only human. He could always catch up on homework or even some sleep.

'A nap sounds amazing'

Yeah, he definitely wasn't complaining.

Yuta began his journey home, but as he went to exit the the gym, he was met by another person swinging to door open. The figure ran straight into him, securely wrapping their arms around him.

Yuta let out a grunt as the individual caused him to stumble back into the gym. He quickly regained his balance, as the other person was much smaller than himself. He looked down to see a very distressed Sooyoung. He tried to pull away, but her grip only tightened in his arms.

He was beyond confused, not knowing what to do in the situation. He'd never seen the girl this scared. He didn't know the girl was scared of anything, if she was he'd never heard of it. He only knew so much about her, but he did know one thing. Whatever caused her to freak out like this must've really been something.

Worried about what could've frightened the girl so badly, Yuta wrapped his arms around the shaking girl. He knew he had to ask eventually, he just didn't want to freak her out even more by making her relive whatever events had just happened. For now though, he just tried to calm the shaking girl in his arms.

Her breathing was abnormal and it sounded like she had been running for quite a while.

'Did someone chase her here?' He has so many questions, but kept quiet as he continued to try and relax the girl. After a few minutes of deep breathing, Sooyoung eventually calmed and went limp in his arms.

"Sooyoung?" Yutas voice was quiet, almost a whisper. He didn't want to startle her, just wanted to make sure she was still with him.

"Are you ok?"

She took a deep breath and loosened her vice grip on the male. In a quick motion, Sooyoung completely detached herself from the boy. She wiped her face and fixed her clothing, attempting to regain her composure.

She collected herself and took a shaky breath before slowly lifting her eyes to meet his questioning ones. Shaking her head, she began to apologize, all of it just spilling from her mouth.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, and if I freaked you out, there was just this guy and he followed me. He followed me all the way here, and when I went to ask him what he wanted he grabbed me-"

"He what?!" Yuta was shocked. Now he understood. He'd heard about the guy following people, but never had he known about him grabbing people. He felt his soul leave his body, he needed to call Johnny, and all his other friends, not that they would know what to do, but still he needed to tell someone.

Something was definitely going on, and he was not here for it. Someone was following his friends around, but he needed to know why.

"Hey, are you paying attention," Sooyoung snapped her fingers in front of the boy, he was completely zoning out. She was worried he would be mad at her for being late, she didn't want to seem like a hypocrite.

"Yeah, um I actually need to call someone," Yuta reached into his bag to pull out his phone. He unlocked it and went to his most recent calls. Sooyoung was confused by his sudden action, but didn't question it.

After a few rings, they finally picked up.

"Yo, did your gym session get cut short? You never call me-"

"Youngho where are you right now?" His voice was panicked, he didn't know whether the guy that had followed Sooyoung was still around, and he didn't want the same guy to try and pick one with Johnny. Sooyoung was still trying to understand the situation, she wanted answers, especially as to why Yuta cared so much about where his friends were at the moment, among other things.

She could faintly hear their conversation, the person he was talking to was kinda loud. Either that or his phone volume was too high and he should turn it down. You don't want to go deaf.

"I'm at the practice field with Mark right now, why what's wrong? Did your gym date not show? Aw, it's ok man, you know I remember a time-"

"Youngho, holy fuck stop talking, just stay there I'm going to come meet you guys. Someone else I know was followed by a guy and I want to see if it was the same person," Yuta was out of breath, it felt like he couldn't keep air in his lungs, maybe his posture was bad.

"Wait, really? Ok, yeah we'll stay here, just be safe on your way down here, he might be around somewhere." Yuta was nodding his head, though Johnny couldn't tell from over the phone. They said goodbyes and Yuta quickly went to gather the rest of his stuff.

Stopping his actions, he realized Sooyoung was still standing with a beyond confused look on her face. The boy grabbed his bag and went in front of the girl.

"I have a friend who had the same thing happen to him last night, I think we should figure out if it's the same person."

Sooyoung nodded, she wanted to know just as bad as anyone else did. She reached for her bag, only to have her hand stopped by Yuta.

She looked at him as if he had grown another head, but before she could ask he answered.

"You're still visibly shaking," he said motioning to her hands, they were still trembling. "I've got it, just follow me, I promise this won't take long, then you can go home." The boy continued to grab her bag from the floor and throw it over his other shoulder. Sooyoung wanted to protest and say that she was fine, but she couldn't find the strength to fight back.

It wasn't that the guy had grabbed her that freaked her out so much, it was that he looked so familiar. She felt like she knew him from somewhere. Sooyoung knew it was crazy but she felt as though the man was an old friend. Maybe it was his smell, or they fact that he knew things about her. She knew she had to tell Yuta that last bit of information, so she tried to make it not sound like she was about to burst into tears.

The boy was already by the doors waiting for her to join him. She carefully walked up to him and he opened the doors. They began their short walk towards the practice field in silence. She didn't know how to bring up what she wanted to say, and she spent the whole journey trying to think of a conversation starter.

Once she had finally found the right words, Sooyoung went to stop the older boy, only to look up and see him staring off ahead of them. Distracted, Sooyoung looked up to see where the other was looking, only to stop dead in her tracks. At the end of the corridor stood a tall man. He wore a suit and a ball cap, the same thing the man who chased her wore. Sooyoung expected to feel fear and anxiety bubble in her stomach, but both of those were overpowered by anger and annoyance.

She was quick to fix her posture, she was not about to let this guy make a fool out of her twice in one day. Yuta saw her change in appearance and went to try and stop her, but it was too late.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Sooyoung continued to make her way towards the new male in the hall, against Yuta constant protest. The man wasn't fazed, and continued to stand with his arms folded. As she got closer, Sooyoung was almost ready for a second round with the stranger, only to be stopped once again in her tracks.

"Lee Sooyoung, Nakamoto Yuta," the mans voice was deep and thick, something unlike Yuta had ever heard in his life. He had one kid in his class who had a deep voice, but nothing like what this guy had. Both students didn't know what to do, they could only stare at the man who just called their names.

"I need you both to come with me," the man began to walk closer to the two and out of instinct, Sooyoung grabbed Yutas arm.

"Why, who are you and why are you following us," Yuta wanted answers and he wanted them now. He was tired of this. His voice wavered as he spoke, but who wouldn't be terrified by large man telling you he needed you to come with him.

When the man didn't answer, Sooyoung began to shake her head, "I'm sorry sir, but we can't do that," both Yuta and Sooyoung started to slowly back up from the man. They knew they had to get away, and if Yuta could just get them a head start, he could get them to the practice field another way.

But before they could make the mad dash in the opposite direction, the man spoke up.

"I don't think you two understand, this isn't an offer. Now if you'll both please stop wasting my time, I need to get you both back to headquarters before the meeting starts."

Both peers were surprised by the mans sudden change in attitude. It was a sassy quip and Sooyoung respected that, but it still didn't mean she'd just go with him. Plus the new information that had been given.

"What headquarters, and what meeting, what is this all about?!" Sooyoung was besides herself at this point. She was in the middle of a hallway with some random guy who was telling her she needed to go to a meeting at some place? Does no one else see this?

"Look man, we're sorry, but this isn't some movie. We don't know you and you don't know anything about us, sorry to waste your time but we need to be leaving," Yuta grabbed the girls arm and began to make his way back towards the other gym.

The man in the suit heaved a sigh, he didn't get paid enough for this shit. He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. He put in the name Nakamoto Yuta, and a profile came up.

"Osaka, Japan."

Silence, and Sooyoung swore Yuta stopped breathing for a second.

The man looked up to see their reactions, and a smirk made its way onto his face. He continued, "You have two sisters, you play basketball, even though you enjoy soccer more, you were born October 26, 1995, you-"

"Shut up!" Yutas voice boomed in the empty hall. His breath had become erratic at this point. He turned around to look at the man, dropping Sooyoungs arm in the process. He blinked a few times, not knowing if this was actually happening. It was.

"H-how do you know that?" His whole being was shaking at this point. Sooyoung continued to look at the boy next to her, just as shocked as he was. Did he know that kind of stuff about her too?

Glad that he finally had their attention, the man in the suit made his way closer to where the pair was standing. Once at a comfortable distance, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge. It read his name and an organization the two had never heard of.

"Now if you two don't mind, we have a meeting to attend."

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why I didn’t put Yuta on the soccer team, I have no idea.


	9. VII

"Maybe they got lost."

Johnny looked up at his younger friend with a 'are you serious' look on his face. They had been waiting for almost an hour for Yuta and his friend to show up. It wasn't a far walk from the south gyms to the practice field, maybe ten minutes, fifteen if you go the back way.

Johnny sat back against the bench and tried to call his friend for the seventh time. It still went to voicemail after the sixth ring, but he didn't bother to leave a message. The boy was starting to get anxious, he hadn't know Yuta that long, but he was still a friend and wouldn't want anything to happen to him. Especially seeing as how urgent he sounded over the phone.

Johnny made the executive decisions to call around and see if Yuta has gotten caught up with something else. His first thought was Jaehyun, but he then remembered the dinner he had and didn't want to bother him. He looked through his short contact list to try and find another name that might know something of his friend. 

Mark was also on his phone, scrolling through his timeline on Twitter when he remembered something.

"Hey I have Jenos number, he's on the team with Yuta and Jaehyun, maybe he knows something." At that Johnny perked up, it was worth a shot right? The older nodded his head as Mark pulled up the phone application on his device. He pulled up Jenos contact and selected the 'call' button.

It rang twice before he got an answer.  
"Hello?" The boy sounded winded, like he had been running.

"Jeno? Are you ok? Why do you sound so tired?" Mark was confused, the team didn't have practice that afternoon, if they did, they wouldn't be in this predicament. He shifted his weight while he waited for his friend to answer his question. 

"I'm on a run right now, what's up?" The boy had paused his jog and began a slow walk around the park on campus that he was in. Whenever the boy didn't have practice he would still try to keep active whether it was going to the gym, dancing, or what he was doing now, going for a run.

"I was wondering if you had seen Yuta? He was supposed to meet Johnny and I at the practice field an hour ago and he hasn't shown." The line on the other end was silent for a moment before Jeno spoke up.

"Yeah I saw him, he left about thirty minutes ago, he was with a girl and a big guy." Jeno hadn't seen a problem with what he'd seen earlier, for all he knew, Yuta was probably scouted by a Professional basketball team, he was proud of his teammate.

Mark furrowed his eyebrows, a girl and a big guy? Why would Yuta leave with them?  
"What did the big guy look like Jeno?" Mark questioned and Johnny's head whipped up, now interested in their conversation.

"Uh I don't know he was a big guy had a cap on," Jeno tried his best to remember what he'd seen. 

Johnny quickly tapped on mark to get his attention. "Ask him if he was wearing a suit," his voice just above a whisper. Mark nodded.

"Was the guy wearing like a suit of some kind?" Mark prayed he'd say no, but his gut had a different feeling. 

"Yeah like a black suit, dude had a badge of some kind on his belt too, look he was probably just a scout, you know how they've been coming to our games recently-"   
The boy on the other end stopped speaking abruptly.

"Jeno? You ok?"   
The boy didn't respond. "Jeno" Mark called again, still not receiving an answer. He was about to hang up and redial when he heard a voice come through the speakers, and it wasn't Jenos.

"Lee Jeno, I need you to come with me."  
Confused, Mark quickly put the phone on speaker so Johnny could hear the exchange as well.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" Jenos voice was distant, he must've had the phone away from his face. Johnny looked at mark, both boys were wide eyed.

"I mean you need to come with me, I will answer you questions later. Tell your friends they need to be ready as well."

With that the line went dead, and Johnny swore he felt his blood run cold. Both boys looked at each other and began to try and piece together what had just happened. Mark was about to comment when a noise cause them to turn around.

"Seo Youngho, Lee Minhyung,"  
Neither of them moved, they felt trapped under the large mans gaze. They just looked ahead, waiting for the man to continue.

"I need you both to come with me."  
Still, neither of them moved, not until Johnny spoke up.  
"Who are you, and how do you know our names." The man didn't falter and answered with the same monotone voice he had earlier.

"I can not disclose my information, but we know everything about you two and your friends, if you'd come with me I will take you two them. We mean no harm." The unidentified man continued as the boys listened. 

"How do we know you're not lying to us?"Mark was scared, but didn't want to act like it in front of Johnny. "How do we know you're not just trying to trick us into going with you, you could get our names anywhere!"

The man pulled out his phone. He pulled up a list of names and began reading them off. The man knew that if the two boys knew who else they were interested in, they would be more inclined to agree to leave with him. Both boys knew a few of them, but most they'd never heard of.

"Moon Taeil"

"Seo Youngho"

"Lee Taeyong" 

"Nakamoto Yuta"

"Qian Kun"

"Kim Dongyoung"

" Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul"

"Jung Yoon Oh"

"Dong Sicheng"

"Kim Jungwoo"

"Wong Yukhei"

"Lee Minhyung"

"Xiao DeJun"

"Won Kunhang"

"Huang Renjun"

"Lee Jeno"

"Lee Donghyuck"

"Na Jaemin"

"Liu YangYang"

"Zhong Chenle"

"Park Jisung"

"And Lee Sooyoung"

The boys were baffled, Marks mouth hung open. He just listed twenty some odd people off that list, and they were on it. The boys looked at one another, this was bigger than they had anticipated. The man still stood their, not fazed by their reactions.

"Ok, if we go with you," Johnny finally spoke up after letting the information settle in, "where are we going?" 

The agent relaxed, he'd done his job. He made his way closer to the boys, and pulled out his badge. It had an acronym along with a symbol and a name. Both boys studied it as if it was going to be on their next test. Once they had backed away, the man spoke again.

"Now, gentleman if you don't mind," he motioned towards the exit of the field with his arms, "we have a very important meeting to attend to."

•

Turning the sign on the door was Kuns favorite part of the day. Doing it caused his whole body to relax, his heart beat to return to a normal rate. Not that he didn't enjoy his job, he just enjoyed the peace and quiet the shop offered after hours. He began the nightly cleaning routine, putting the remaining cups and plates in the dishwasher, sanitizing the equipment, and cleaning the rest of the tables and chairs.

He didn't have to do it alone, Doyoung had called and said he'd be there in a few minutes,  
Jungwoo had a tutoring session that night, but he'd have to open tomorrow, so it didn't bother kun at all. 

Gathering up all the supplies he would need, kun made his was to the front counter and began cleaning the coffee machines. He got into a good rhythm and began to zone out with what he was doing. He didn't even bother to look up when the bell to the door rang in his ears. 

With his head still down, Kun spoke in the most official voice he could muster, "Sorry, but we're closed."   
With that being said, he turned his back to the front doors and began to clean the machines there. The person hadn't left, he could still feel their presence, and he was trying his hardest to not lose it on whoever was interrupting the only alone time he got.  
Rolling his eyes, kun once again asked the individual to leave.

"Look sir, I don't want to seem rude or have to call the police, but we're closed right now, and I'm going to have to ask you to politely leav-"

"Kun"

The boy whipped his body around to see his coworkers in obvious distress. They weren't alone either, there was a man behind them. The two boys with the man were visibly shaken up, Kun swore he saw Doyoung sweating. The friends all looked at one another before Kun straightened his posture and shifted his attention to the larger male in the shop.

With a shaky voice, kun made eye contact with the man and asked all the questions he's been wanting to, "who are you, and what do you want with us?" Kun motioned to his two friends who had been quietly listening. The man nodded his head and spoke up. 

"I cannot disclose my name but," he reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge. The boys all crowded around it, making sure they weren't completely losing their minds. "I can tell you that you and your friends are apart of something much bigger than you know."

All the boys went silent, they looked at one another. The first one to make a move was Jungwoo. He looked up at the male, back at his badge, and at his friends. It finally made sense to Jungwoo, and he cracked a smile, which lead to him laughing out loud, hysterically. 

Kun and Doyoung looked at the male like he'd gone mad. They were completely shocked by their friends outburst.

Still laughing, Jungwoo began to babble about what he'd seen. "So, you mean to tell me," he said pointing at his chest, "that you fucks have been stalking me for the past month because you're apart of some secret organization," it sounded like he was slipping into a different state of mind. 

Taking a deep breath and trying to calm his laughter, Jungwoo continued, "what is this? A movie? Who are you? Some 'secret agent', sent to collect us so we can 'discover our powers' and 'save the world 'or some shit?" He continued to laugh, until he realized the man was looking at him with a knowing look.

"Oh you've gotta be shitting me"

•

This was his worst nightmare.

He knew he couldn't turn around, he wasn't going down without a fight, not this time. 

He just kept going, he didn't know where, he just knew he had to keep going. He knew what they wanted, he's known for years. They don't want him, they want his body, or better yet the power his body holds. 

He was a coward.  
A coward who ran rather than help his friends. Not that they knew he knew, they had no idea of the knowledge he possessed. He knew about all of them, he even befriended a few of them. He went to their games, their shows, even helped them study. He was a filthy liar, and there was a special place in hell for when he got there. 

But he had to do it. He had to keep them safe. All of them. They were the only family he had left, they looked out for him and he did the same for them. He loved them. And he knew that by trying to get away, he was saving them. If they didn't have him, they wouldn't be able to do it. They wouldn't be able to put his family through the excruciating pain.

So he kept running, as fast as he possibly could. He had made it off campus and into a nearby clearing behind the stadium. He heard footsteps filling close behind him, they weren't going to give up easily either. Leaping over stones and logs, he quickly entered the woods near the outskirts of town. 

He heard someone yell behind him and a bright flash of light caught his attention. It was a plot to get him to slip up, and it worked. Not paying attention to what was in front of him, a large log knocked him off of his feet. He landed face first into the leaves with a grunt. 

He quickly tried to get back to his feet, but before he could, a sharp, electric pain shot through his body. He let out a loud scream of agony as the man who had been chasing him walked up behind his twitching figure. 

Everything went numb and he could only listen as he felt his body being slung up and over a broad shoulder. He'd failed. 

The larger male began to move towards the clearing with the limp boy on his shoulder. The last thing the latter remembered before slipping completely out of conciseness caused a tear to slip from his eyes.

"This is agent 625, I'm coming in with Lee Taeyong. He's the last of them. Let everyone know that we're ready for Operation 127 to commence."

~


	10. VIII

Darkness

The darkness you feel at a weak point in your life is the most insufferable feeling in the world. It feels like your lungs have collapsed, your eyes can't distinguish between fact and fiction. Your arms feel like putty, your legs tremble with every step you take. The body can't maneuver, but the mind can't stop acting. It's running at an unbearable speed, conjuring thoughts you had tried so hard to suppress. The mind is what really causes all of this, the body just being its host. The mind creates these emotions, it's what causes you to do the things you know you shouldn't. The mind makes you feel as though you can only be the best version of yourself, but come to find you've destroyed everyone and everything in your path.

That's how Taeyong felt.

His eyes were closed, body untouched, but his mind was completely unraveled. He had done everything he could, it may not seem like it, but he promises he did. The boy would've done anything for his friends, no matter how it affected his conscious. He knew them, all of them. He'd seen their names in a carelessly opened file laying on a desk. He'd seen the names of the ones like him.

He knew what he was, he'd known for years. He doesn't understand it, and doesn't think he ever will. So many unanswered questions, even if he'd been in the same unmarked building upwards of fifty times. They would always send him him with more questions than he came in with. It was a cycle, a sick game for them. All this talk of superheroes, yet the real enemy was them.

That Taeyong knew.

Opening his eyes, Taeyong was reacquainted with the sterile white tiles of their ceilings. He'd been under these sheets so many times, it didn't feel foreign on his skin anymore. Hell, he's probably been on here more than his own bed.

He wiggled his fingers, just to make sure they were still there, before taking a few breaths. Taeyong tilted his head to his left, where he knew someone would be waiting for him to wake up. His assumptions were soon confirmed by an older woman who calmly approached his bed and held his hand gently. A small smile graced her lips and he mirrored her expression.

Patting his hand firmly, the old woman shook her head at the boy. She had knowing eyes, a wise aura surrounding her small figure.

"Lee Taeyong, how many times are you going to end up in this bed before you learn your lesson?" Taeyongs smile grew as he began to quietly laugh, the lady was like a second mother to him in every aspect. She cared for him, looked out for him, and most importantlyscolded him when he needed to be. It was nice to know he had someone here that he could ask questions to. Though she didn't always give the answer he hoped for, she gave him words that were much more valuable.

"You know I'm only here to visit you," He finished with a wiggle of his brows, earning him a light slap on the forearm. She knew he was just a cheeky young man, but she also knew what he was capable of. She knew everything about him, even the things he never personally disclosed to her. It felt wrong to invade someone's life like that, but over the years, knowing that you are the someone that these kids could turn to and talk to about the changes in their bodies was enough. That's why she did this, for kids like Taeyong.

Still shaking her head, the older woman helped the boy to sit up with his back pressed against the head board of the high performance bed he was stationed in. Once comfortable, Taeyong stretched his arms behind his head and relaxed. He knew the drill.

Laying his arm out ready for the prick, Taeyong mentally prepared himself for all the liquids she would extract from his body. It's how their visits always started. He would wake up, she'd scold him, then help him up so she could test his levels. It was a comfortable routine, that was until she returned to his side and shook her head again, but this time it was different. She wasn't good neutrally doing it, she was telling him 'no'.

His face contorted into confusion as he sat up completely straight. He was ready to question her, when she raised a hand, signaling to let her speak first. She sighed deeply, she was happy it was finally happening, but she wasn't sure how the boy would handle it. She wasn't sure how any of them would handle this level of information, but they had a right to know.

Placing her frail hands on his shoulders, the woman leveled herself to meet Taeyongs gaze. She could tell he was anxious, it was hard not to see the way his body shook, and his breaths faltered. He knew what was coming.

Smiling slightly to try and ease the boy, she gripped him tightly. "Taeyong, there's no time for levels, you have a meeting to attend."

•

The walk to the room was dreadful, every step he took lead him closer to his demise. He knew what he was, and what they would do to him. He'd heard the screams for others like him. People who had special abilities like his own. He knew what they did to monsters like him.

There had been more than one occasion where Taeyong had spent the night in a small cramped room at the end of a long corridor. The sounds of pained screams and sanity slowly slipping away like sand through his fingers was the only thing that filled his ears. He'd bang on the door, begging for someone to let him out, or just someone to help those in pain. He couldn't bare it, he'd keep his head under the cheap pillows and try to sing a song to keep his ears occupied. It never worked.

Every step he took, took him closer to giving whoever's been running this shit show a piece of his mind. So when he reached the ungodly sized door at the end of a completely glass hall, he was mentally prepared to give em hell.

A deep breath left his mouth as he lifted his hands to the doors, pressing his large palms against the cool lacquered wood. He made a disgusted face as he forced the two doors open with a loud bang.

The doors hit the walls and most definitely made little independents where the handles were. He lifted his head and scanned the room. A long business table laid in the center of the glass lines room. Chairs set around, all but one filled, his seat.

It was at the end of the table closest to the door. He analyzed the faces in the room, mainly the new ones that he'd never seen before, in person that is. He also paid mind to the men lining the walls of the room. They were all uniform, staring at him. Everyone was staring at him, and the entrance he just made.

He straightened his posture and fixed his gaze ahead, only to have it falter as he noticed the odd person out in the room. Right across his seat, at the other far end of the table, was a girl. He hadn't seen a file on her. Was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Was she a family member, he knew some of them had sisters. Or was she one of them?

Well, he was about to find out. He slowly strode into the room keeping his eyes focused ahead and his figure relaxed. He didn't want to show his true emotions, not yet at least. He gripped the back of the leather office chair and pulled it from under the table. He lowered himself and sat, crossing his arms on the table. He knew his friends were looking at him, fuck everyone was looking at him.

He locked eyes with the body on the opposite end of the table, her eyes piercing his. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, that is until a smirk graced her lips and she leaned back in her chair. She released a sigh, she obviously wasn't scared of what could happen, and by the looks of it, they were the only two with that look.

Still scanning the room, Taeyong saw twenty other boys sitting motionless in their chairs, eyes locked on their laps. They were scared.

Scared to speak up, ask what they were doing here. Taeyong took a closer look at a few of the boys. Some had ruffled clothing, a few scrapes, and even some dirt on their bodies.

Some put up a fight. Good for them.

His eyes focused in on one boy, the youngest of them. His heart clenched as he saw the state of the boy. He'd seen him on the campus, he was the star of the Freshman basketball team. He was good, and he even held a long conversation with him once. Looking at the boy now, his demeanor had completely changed. He looked tired, his breathing was quite labored and shallow, making Taeyong want to rub his shoulders and tell him to take longer breaths. His hair was disheveled, a few brown locks sticking in different directions. A few scratches laced his arms and face. He was also sporting a nice cut on his lip that proved Taeyongs assumptions. Jisung put up a good fight. It was obvious who the winner was, but it still impressed Taeyong that the boy wouldn't go down without a fight.

Good one kid, keep that same energy.

The silence in the room was deafening, it made Taeyong want to scream. It would be better than the sounds echoing in his head. Leaning his head to the right, he cracked the bones in his neck, causing all eyes to snap to him. He smirked, all eyes on him. He rolled his shoulders and released a sigh, 'it's show time'

Placing his hands on the dark hardwood table, Taeyong rose to his feet. The backs of his knees pushed his chair back, the noise loud against the tiled floors. His posture didn't falter as he moved himself from the table. He slowly walked, his shoes making a clicking noise as he made his way towards the men lining the walls. He walked down the line eyes forward, hands clasped behind his back. He mirrored a drill Sargent walking down the line of his men.

He continued until he reached the man he was looking for. The same agent he'd grown to know over the past years. Whenever he'd run away, he'd always find him. This was the man he saw almost everyday, whether it be him chasing him, checking up on him, or invading his nightmares. Like his own personal boogie man, he'd always find a way to catch him.

He remained facing forward, seeing the man out of the corner of his eye. He waited, waited for god knows how long. He wanted him to wait, he wanted them all to wait and see what it felt like to have that growing anxiety in your gut. It wasn't until a slight movement caught Taeyong attention, they were getting restless. He smirked, knowing well that all eyes were still on him.

He opened his mouth slightly, allowing small breaths to escape his lips. He saw the man that he was in front of shift on his feet, and that only fed Taeyongs ego.

"Agent," he stated, his sudden comment caused a few to jump in their chairs. His voice was cold, distant, and dripping with venom. He wasn't going to let that man get to him, not now, not ever again. He hated that his friends and the others in the room had to see him do this, but he wasn't going to get another opportunity.

"Tell me sir," Taeyong began keeping his eyes locked in-front of him. "Why," his voice was still low, but everyone heard him with little difficulty. "Why did you feel the need to do what you did to me?" It wasn't the first time Taeyong had been chased into the woods, or had someone use force on him. But never had he been electrocuted by an unknown device. And that fucker knew that.

The man to his right flinched slightly, trying to keep his stone cold facade from faltering.

"I-I don't know what you're tal-,"

Taeyong almost popped a vain trying not to lose his composure, but he couldn't allow this to slide, he didn't give a damn who saw him.

"You don't know what I'm talking about?!"

Taeyong all but yelled, whipping his head around so quickly his neck almost popped out of socket. His breathing became ragged, the others in the room completely shocked by the outburst.

All of the boys knew at least of Taeyong, whether it was through a mutual friend, or just a friend in itself. He was always smiling, stayed levelheaded, and from the looks of it, was a natural born leader. He was well known on the campus, most of the teachers remembering him from a only two years ago. He was a quiet student, but participated in events and even held a place on the student council.

But this, this was a whole new side to Taeyong, this one unstable, unreadable, almost animalistic.

In an instant everything stilled. Taeyongs breath stabilized, as he squared his shoulders towards the agent in front of him. He knew what he was about to do would cause a lot of pain, cause the agent a lot of pain, and sure as hell freak out the others in the room.

But that wasn't going to stop Taeyong, he wasn't going to be scared anymore.

Hey, he's got these powers, why not use them?

Rolling his shoulders out, Taeyongs backed up slightly, causing all the agents to instinctively reach for their weapons.

Raising his hands with a smirk casted upon his lips. He lifted his head so he could look the agent in the eye.

"So, you don't remember." Taeyong started still walking backwards. "Well then sir," he halted his movements, causing the agents to hold their breaths. In a split second, the Taeyong standing in front of the man slowly stilled, his breathing calm and eyes locked on the man in front of him. The agent looked around the room, before training his eyes on the boy in front of him.

He was still staring the other male down, that was until he felt a sudden presence behind him. It was only confirmed when the table of people all widened their eyes and gasped, one boy even stood up, completely at a loss for words.

The agents body completely stilled as he felt a breath tickle the back of his neck. His eyes darted up to look at the Taeyong in front of him, the boy was still moving, breathing and coherent.

But that didn't explain the being behind him, also breathing, moving, and coherent.

"Well the, agent 625,"

Taeyongs voice rang throughout the room, but the boy in front of him didn't move his lips.

"let me help you remember."

But the one behind him did.

~


	11. IX

Wild. 

That was the only word Mark could think of to describe this moment. He was already confused beyond belief, not to mention the twenty some odd other people sitting around him as they watched the events unfold. One minute he was practicing passes with Johnny on the field, and next he was sitting in a conference room waiting for some meeting.

He knew some of the people in the room, most being from other sports teams or in his grade, but he'd never seen the girl sitting at the head of the table on the right of Yuta. She was stunning, but that's not what stood out to mark. It was her laidback attitude to this whole thing. It was like she didn't even care, and he thought that was really cool.

Drawing himself out of his thoughts, Mark refocused on the scene in front of him. It all happened so fast. One minute Taeyong, a mutual friend that Johnny had introduced to him, was talking to one of the uniformed men. Next, his whole body began to shutter and his eyes turned an eerie white. He was shocked to see it, at first thinking he was having something similar to a seizure. But that assumption was put to rest as he saw the second Taeyong appeared behind the man he was talking to. His whole body froze, not trusting his eyes completely at the moment. It moved at looked just like the original and that's what probably freaked him out the most.

Everyone around him had a similar reaction, even the girl had a shocked look on her face. Everyone waited to see what Taeyong would do next. His voice echoed throughout the room, causing everyone to hear his exchange with the other male. But then again, Mark didn't think he was trying to keep their conversation private anyways. 

The agent looked beyond terrified, the look of shock mixed with 'how is he doing that' was spread across his face. All mark could really do was sit and watch, he did not want to get in Taeyongs way.

Breathing erratic, the agent was the first to speak after a few silent moments. "Listen Lee, I know these are your friends," his voice wavered as he spoke, trying to calm the younger male down. "But this is between you and I, we can do this," he moved a finger between himself and the Taeyong in front of him, "in private, yeah?" 

Taeyong scoffed and chuckled with a sickening smile on his lips. He knew what the man was trying to do, and it wasn't going to work, not anymore. They weren't going to 'talk it out in private' no there wouldn't be any talking. There was never any talking. That room, it held so many demons. Just thinking about it caused his heart rate to spike. Being alone in that close of space with that man, his palms grew moist at the thought. 

Taeyeog gritted his teeth, 'stop it', he told himself, 'stop thinking about it'. 

He shifted his weight onto his other leg, he wasn't done yet. Before the agent could say anything else, the original Taeyong began to shutter again, this time much more violently. Before anyone else could say anything, the second Taeyong behind the agent began to speak again. "Oh, come on agent," The boy put on a pout, completely changing his demeanor from a second ago. It threw everyone off guard, but not as much as when a third Taeyong appeared on the other side of the room. Everyone's head snapped to the new clone once he continued to speak.  
"Yeah, there's no fun in that, not for me at least," He continued pouting, but this still wasn't over for him. He wanted to show them what he could truly do. What they made him do.

Soon there was a fourth, a fifth, a sixth and many more Taeyongs all in different corners of the room. They were all talking at the same time about all the things he'd been through and seen during the past years, confusing the agents immensely. The original Taeyong still shook violently, he knew he couldn't hold it for much longer, his body was draining by the second. He'd never done this many clones, and especially not for this long. He was proud of himself, but he knew his whole body would ache tomorrow.

"Ok! Ok! Enough, please Lee," the agent begged, he didn't want the boy to injure himself, "stop this so we can talk this out! We mean no harm." The man told the truth, they just wanted to help these kids. Help them harness their abilities safely. "You are all very powerful and I promise we will never do anything to put you in danger." The agent knew this was painful for Taeyong, and he needed to calm the boy down before he could seriously damage anyone or anything.

The agent opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by a new voice. This one much calmer, causing Taeyongs shaking to lessen.   
"Come on Tae, you don't wanna hurt yourself, it's not worth it, plus I don't wanna hear your ass complain about how sore you are at dance practice tomorrow." The shorter male stood up and gave a knowing look in Taeyongs direction. Everyone in the room still stayed alert, waiting for Taeyongs next move. It took a few moments, but after another minute, the multiple Taeyong disintegrated slowly. 

The original Taeyong regained complete control of his body, only to immediately begin to wobble. The closest person to him was Ten, who had to skillfully maneuver his arms to accommodate the boys figure. They slid to the ground and two of the agents stepped forward to help. Ten was a little hesitant to let the agents hold Taeyong, he wasn't positive, but from what he heard from his friend a few minutes ago, these people weren't the most trustworthy.

They took him to his chair at the head of the table and placed him gently down. The agents were whispering to one another, not knowing quite what to do. They attempted to wake the boy up, but before they could succeed, the large doors were opened again, this time with less force. In walked a man and a women, both sharply dressed. They adorned name badges on their right sides, along with their organization name and barcode. 

The man smiled, and clasped his hands together. He was on the older side, his smile lines prominent. The woman was also wrinkled, but her beauty still over shined. The man walked into the room, closer to where Taeyong sat slumped over. 

"Ah, I never thought I'd see the day," he began, causing the others to look puzzled.  
"I know you all must be very confused," he started but was cut off by a boy at the other end of the table. "You're damn right we are," he said standing up. "And if I have to hear that phrase one more time, I'm going to lose it."

Everyone at the table began to agree, they were over all this secrecy. It wasn't a joke, and it was obviously serious after that whole exchange with the agent and Taeyong, this really was something beyond them. 

The man bowed his head apologetically, he understood where they were coming from.   
"My apologies, allow me to introduce myself and explain everything." They all nodded their heads looking at one another. 

The man had a tight smile, and began after a deep breath. "Well my name is Kim Jeonghan, and this is my wife Chaeyong," he motioned to himself and the woman next to him. The lady, smiled and waved her hand slightly. "My wife and I met in school, we both shared the same passion for discovery, so when we were both offered to study abroad on a new discovery, we jumped at the opportunity," he smiled in his wife's direction.

This time it was her who spoke, "while we were abroad, we discovered a substance that almost imitated that of a super human immune system. It was incredible, but when tested on animals," she paused, looking pained almost. "It caused things to alter in their bloodstreams. The animals began to experience physical changes." Her voice was small by the end of her speech, She then looked at her husband, asking him silently to continue for her. 

"In a simple explanation, we noticed these changes in the animals and then thought, what would it do to humans?" That caused heads to spin, but Mr. Kim wasn't done yet. "Don't worry," he said raising his hands in front of himself defensively, " you don't need anymore of the substance," he said with a small laugh. 

A hand slowly rose in the back, wanting to verify if he'd just heard them right. Mr. Kim nodded his head in the boys direction,   
"Yes Mr.Moon?"   
Taeil composes himself, "not to sound rude sir,"he paused, "but did you just say 'we don't need anymore' what does that mean? And how do you know it's us?"

The man stilled, glancing at his wife, "it means that you twenty two, already have this substance in you. You were born with it, we know this because the substance can be detected using a specific machine that my husband and I designed."

Some were shocked, other began to look at themselves in their seats. They had a substance in their bloods? They all had so many questions. 

"Wait! So like, what does this do to us?"   
Mr. Kim smiled, "I'm glad you asked son, this is the part that still baffles my wife and I to this day," Mrs. Kim nodded in agreement.

This time it was her who spoke first, "it reacts differently in each of your bodies, causing you to all have different reactions to the substance," she inhaled sharply, "this is why we needed to meet with you all, we want to make sure the substance doesn't affect your bodies negatively, or fall into the wrong hands."

They all understood that, but something still didn't sit right. "What if we haven't noticed the thingy?" Someone asked and many agreed.  
Some of them had never even experienced anything abnormal.

The man nodded, "I understand, that's what we are here to help you with, we're here to help you harness and control your powers." Both of them nodded, "the substance can remain dormant for years, while others, such as your friend here, can activate it on their owns."

Taeyong kept his head down, he was still embarrassed of his outburst. Everything the two were saying was true. Taeyong had harnessed his power on his own. It was painful, and he knew that he should've just waited but he just wanted to feel the power he held. 

Damn, he really was selfish.

"Well now that you all have been informed," Mr. Kim began, "we are offering to help you active these power safely, but there's another proposition we have for you all," they all looked expectantly at the man and his wife.

"Once you all have discovered you abilities, we know that you would be unstoppable," Mr.Kim spoke, "with our help, you all could be a team that could help us immensely."

"With what?" That was the first thing out of Marks mouth, he was trying to keep up with all of the new information. 

Both of them sighed, they had to tell them, it might alter their decisions. But they needed to phrase it the right way. 

"There's a force"

Silence, that was until they all started laughing. They just laughed, causing the two scientists to look at one another with confusion. They didn't let up, some even began to tear up. Everyone expect Taeyong didn't know what to believe at this point, and their coping mechanism was laughing. 

"We're really sorry guys," Yukhei started, trying to calm himself down, "but that sounded straight out of a movie, like this isn't Star Wars." 

"Yeah," Johnny continued, "That was way too cliche for me, just be straight up with us," he folded his arms behind his head, "how scary could it be?"

Now it was Taeyongs turn to chuckle, his eyes still trained on the table. He knew he sounded mad, but the people around him had no idea what they were dealing with. It was out of this world, literally.

"Like I was saying," Mr. Kim continued, "there is a force, a supernatural force that has been attempting to contact and reach earth." 

Now that everyone was paying attention, he continued, "we know their intentions, and they aren't good," he continued. "They have been sending messages to us, they're asking us for our most valuable possessions, You twenty two,"he finished, pointing at the table. 

"We need your help," Mrs.Kim picked up, "we need your help to take down these supernatural beings so they don't try to invade the earth. I know how crazy we must sound, but believe us when we say, she paused, everyone anticipating her next words.

"If they attack, and get a hold of you all, they will harness your powers and use them for destructive purpose," she spoke with great seriousness. "And if that happens," everyone inhaled, they knew what was coming.

She looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone who would hold it with her. "There will be nothing we can do to stop them from taking over the world."

~


	12. X

Sooyoung didn't believe in fairytales.

Her parents would never read her those overly fantasized bedtime stories, or push her to dress up as her favorite character for Halloween. Of course she heard how all of her friends were going to grow up to be a princess, or find a potion that would turn them into an unworldly being, but Sooyoung never saw the appeal. Not to mention all the talk of space and what was up there. The thought of their possibly being a whole different world beyond our own was way to confusing, but she still saw the marketing aspects from all the movies, television shows, and even conventions. There were plenty of people who bought into it.

But this was ridiculous.

"So you mean to tell us," a boy on the other end that Sooyoung knew to be Johnny, started, "that you dragged us all down here because there are aliens?" His nose scrunched, his brain trying to process the information, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to need more proof than that."  
Sooyoung looked at the boy, nodding her head slightly. She understood his reasoning, there was no proof of anything out there, and if there was, how had no one else seen anything.

While thinking, Sooyoung couldn't help but feel someone's eyes burning into her skin. At first thinking it was one of the boys at the table, she began to scan her surroundings. Taking a good look at everyone around her, she couldn't help but stop and stare. Damn, they were all very attractive, did you have to meet a certain criteria to have a superpower? They all looked to be straight out of a movie or a drama. Maybe a boy band? 

The calling of her name snapped her out of her trance. She looked up at the man and woman standing on the other end of the table. The man began to talk while his wife just smiled. Sooyoung couldn't help but squint, trying to get a better look at the woman, she looked so familiar. 

"As I was saying," Mr.Kim started, " I know you might be a little uncomfortable with all of these bo-," Sooyoung was quick to chide in at his accusation. "I'm not, they don't bother me," she crossed her arms over he chest, she didn't need the "boys" talk, it didn't matter who they were. Being a girl in a room full of boys never bothered Sooyoung. She never saw the big deal with social construct that was "gender". She was just as strong, just as tough, and just as smart as a male. But it also went the other way. Boys could be just as gentle, just as graceful and just as emotional as females. Gender is not a defining factor.

Mr.Kim nodded his head, "good, as long as you are comfortable, we can move along with this." He turned to his wife and she smiled up at him. "Sorry," a new voice spoke up, "but get on with what?" The young boy at the end of the table looked visibly shaken, Sooyoung felt bad for him. 

"Well, if you all would like," Mrs. Kim clasped her hands together in front of her, "we could help you obtain your powers." The whole room became silent, but there was an underlying tension that everyone could feel. Slowly, everyone started nodding their heads. Hell, if they had been dragged down to some random building in the middle of downtown, they damn well better find out their powers. 

"Perfect."

•

They had to take two elevators up to a secured access floor. The ride up felt long, and Sooyoung was having a hard time not fidgeting. She was anxious, not of having powers, but what they might do to her. She couldn't say she never felt a sense of electricity running through her, or had something out of the ordinary happen to her, but she always just assumed it was nothing. 

But now here she was, on her way to find out what element was truly coursing through her veins. The machine dinged as the elevator doors opened. It was a long hallway heavily guarded by agents. Everyone stepped out and began to make their way to the double doors at the end of the corridor. Once all together again, Mr.Kim turned around and smiled brightly at the group of kids. 

"Now, once inside of this room, we will be able to inject you with a liquid that will cause the substance already dormant in your bloodstreams to react and become active."

They all nodded, as the large metal doors were opened by a key card. Smoke filed out of the room as the doors slid open. Making their way inside, Sooyoung noticed all of the capsules that lined the room, each of them having a number on it. 

"We will call your names, and you will be assigned a capsule," Mrs. Kim started, hold up a clipboard. She began to call out names, and the boys cautiously approached her. Everyone had already been assigned before the lady walked up to Sooyoung. She handed the clip board off to an awaiting agent before taking Sooyoungs hands in her own. 

"You," she said softly, "will stand with me." She pulled Sooyoung off to the side where a large wall of buttons and levers were stationed. Sooyoung was confused, there was obviously another capsule meant for her, she was looking right at it. Why wasn't she assigned one? 

The woman saw all of the expressions that flashed across her face, and gripped your hands tighter, "your powers are much more delicate I'm afraid," Mrs.Kim said, "we will try to access yours another time." 

Sooyoung wanted to ask what she meant by 'we will try', but before she could, all of the doors to the capsules clamped closed. Sooyoungs eyes widened, she could hear some of the boys complain of it being to cramped or to hot. She felt bad for them, she hoped none of them were claustrophobic.

Biting her lip, Sooyoung looked to see where Mr.Kim had pushed the button to close all of the capsule doors. He was punching a code into the computer before flicking up a lever. Satisfied, he leaned forward towards a microphone and pressed a 'call' button.

"Are you boys ready?" His voice wavered, showing he was nervous. He didn't want to harm anyone, and he knew how nerve racking this must have been for all the boys. Muffled voices could be heard from the control panel, all short confirmations that they were ready. A few asked if it would hurt, causing Mrs. Kim to look sadly at her husband. They knew it would hurt, and so did Sooyoung, but she tried not to think about it too much.

Once everything on the control panel had been set, the man behind it cranked a dial, setting it for one minute. Sooyoung could only watch, not wanting to question anything just yet. Mr. Kim moved back to the microphone, and began to speak into it again.

"Ok boys, here we go." With that, he pressed a large button and a loud siren began to ring out. The floor began to rumble, the machines generating all the power it would need. Sooyoung could see the boys in the almost clear capsules. Some looked calm while others were obviously tense. 

In a swift motion, long needles all retracted from the sides of the capsules, aimed at the junctures of their necks. Sooyoung gasped quietly, noticing the thickness and placement of the needles. That shit was definitely going to hurt. 

All she could do was watch as the needles slowly pierced their skins. Some seethed at the pain, while others screamed at the overpowering feeling. Looking at the timer, Sooyoung saw that only thirty seconds had passed. 

"Come on guys," she whispered, not noticing the small smile on the woman next to hers face. She had only met most of them a few hours ago, yet Sooyoung was already showing signs of concern for her new teammates.

A bright blue liquid was being injected and Sooyoung could see the substance flowing through their bodies as it was lighting up the different veins in their bodies. Their screams were almost unbearable to the girl, her heart constricting as she heard a few of them begging for it to be stopped. 

Ten seconds, they needed to hold out for ten more seconds and it would be over. The lights in the room began to flash rapidly, signaling the final countdown. 

"10, 9, 8..." they were so close.  
"7, 6, 5..." almost there.  
"4, 3, 2..." "Come on."  
"1"

"System shutting down, process completed." A computerized voice signaled the removal of the needles. The doors to the capsules slowly opened, smoke surrounding the boys. She couldn't see any of them moving and she began to panic. 

"Boys..." Mr. Kim spoke, hoping to get a response. Everything was still, until Sooyoung saw a figure stumble out of a near by capsule. She immediately ran to the figure trying to help the male. She helped the boy whose name she heard to be Jaehyun. 

She gently grabbed his arm, keeping him from hitting the deck as he turned to hold her shoulders, trying to steady himself. Sooyoung quickly led him to one of the chairs.

One by one, the other boys began to file out of their chambers. Some looked to be fine while others were worse off. Sooyoung was trying to help another boy who was much bigger than herself before another male stepped in to help. 

It was Taeyong, the injection not having much of an affect on him. He moved the boy to a chair and sat him down, giving Sooyoung a small smile as she left to help elsewhere.

"Are you guys ok?" Sooyoung made her way towards Yuta, worry plastered across her face. 

"I'm ok," Yuta mumbled, barley able to keep his head up.

"What about you..." Yuta perked up, looking for any sign of discomfort on the girl. 

Quickly shaking her head, Sooyoung tried to calm the boy down, "no yuta, I'm fine, they didn't inject me."

"Why not?" He was still obviously out of it as he kept asking questions.

"They said my abilities were more difficult to unlock, so I have to wait." An agent came up behind you, handing you a water from a tray. 

You gave it to Yuta and he downed it quickly. Looking around, Sooyoung saw most of the boys sitting or laying on the ground. They looked drained, beyond out of it.

Sooyoung saw one boy alone by the wall. She quickly stood up and grabbed another water from the tray. She approached him, and knelt in front of him. He saw the water in her hand, and smiled shyly up at her. She handed him the cup, but before he could take a sip, the liquid turned solid.

Small ice crystals formed on the outside almost like magic, shocking both of them. 

"Oh my g-" Sooyoung couldn't finish as she was cut off by someone else screaming. 

"Haechan! Put it out!" 

"I would if I could dumbass!"

Sooyoung whipped her head around to see a boy, Haechan, with a large ball of fire sitting in his palm. 

"This is incredible," Mrs. Kim said as she helped another boy sit up and her husband could only nod.

"How are you doing that Hachean?" 

The boy could only shake his head, "I don't know, its just happening."

Some boys stood amazed by their new found powers, while some didn't feel at all different.

"Not all of you will get your powers immediately, some will take time." Everyone understood what Mr.Kim was talking about.

"Well," Mrs.Kim began, "now that you are all stable, these agents will take you back down stairs. There you will meet with two more agents, our partners. They will be able to tell you about your possible training sessions along with regular checkups to make sure your bodies are reacting well to the injections."

The kids were all lead back down to the lobby of the large building. Some were excited of their new abilities, while others were exhausted. Stepping into the lobby, the kids were met with the backs of two other individuals.

Everyone kept walking, not noticing the girl who had stopped dead in her tracks. Turning around, Yuta was the first to notice that she had stopped.

"Sooyoung," the other boys turned around, noticing the shocked look on the girls face.

"Hey, Sooyoung, are you ok?"

The girl began to tremble, not out of fear or anger, but something more. She couldn't move, her body stuck in place as she locked eyes with the two new agents in the room.

"Mom... Dad?"

~


	13. XI

"Mom... Dad..."  
Sooyoung stood speechless. 

This day had already been crazy enough, but she really wasn't expecting this. The two people in question turned around, looking slightly ashamed as they locked eyes with their daughter. They knew they would have to do this eventually, but it didn't make the moment any easier. Everyone stood unmoving as the family had their silent stand off. 

"Sooyoung," her mother was the first to speak in a quiet tone as she took a sudden step forward. Without realizing it, Sooyoung also took an instinctive step. 

Backwards. 

It wasn't that Sooyoung was scared of her parents, it was the feeling of uncertainty that caused her body to move out of panic. The girl could feel her face getting hot as all the eyes in the room were rooted on herself and her family. Beginning to fidget, Sooyoung was the first to break the never ending staring contest between her and her parents to look around the lobby. 

Her eyes wandered over to the boys who were scattered around, all watching with different expressions on their faces. Some showed confusion while others held sad or small smiles on their lips. The first person Sooyoung instinctively looked for was Yuta. He was the only boy that she had some knowledge of. 

Yes they had spent the past few weeks training with one another, but that only allowed for so much talking between the two. Hell, she had learned more about the Japanese boy when that agent who was sent to collect them started stating personal information, than she did in the last four weeks of meetings. Though it was an unwanted, reoccurring thought, it didn't stop her from seeking out his eyes amongst the others. 

When the two finally did meet each others gaze, the look on Yutas face only made the girl feel worse. She was already embarrassed as it was, but the look of pure pity that was written across the boys face made the feeling amplify ten fold. Yuta had little to no knowledge of Sooyoung and her parents situation. She had let a small bit of inside slip one afternoon that she had to leave early. When he asked the occasion, Sooyoung simply stated that she was expecting her parents to be home that night and she wanted to spend all the time that she could with them. 

Yuta didn't push further as he began to make up different scenarios of what that could've meant, but he hadn't expected this. He had came down in the elevator between Johnny and Jaehyun, only sharing small talk before this scene began. Now, he still stood between the two males but his eyes were piercing into Sooyoungs. 

The Japanese boy could see the uneasiness in the her eyes and he wished he could do something, but he felt it wasn't his place to do anything. All he could do was muster up a small smile and hope she would be able to handle the situation.

"Sooyoung, we can discuss this later, but for now we need to speak to you boys." It was her father that spoke this time. He turned his body towards the crowd of males who all stood to attention when they realized he was referring to them. 

"Hello boys, my name is Dr. Lee," Sooyoung did her best to listen as her father spoke, but it felt like she had submerged her head in water. "And my wife and I here to help monitor you and your newly accessed abilities." Mrs. lee made her way next to her husband as he began to explain the technicalities of their powers. 

"Now I know this must be a lot right now, but these powers will eventually become just apart of your natural, everyday lives. We will teach you to control and use your powers for beneficial purposes." The boys began to understand, some relaxing as they heard talk of self control. They wouldn't want to hurt anyone, especially unintentionally. 

"Well gentlemen," it was her mother's turn to speak, "I think you all have been through enough for one day. You all should head home and get some rest. We have planned some transportation for you to come back tomorrow after your daily schedules. Then we will go through some more information you'll need to know." She wore a bright and welcoming smile, giving the boys a motherly atmosphere in the lobby. 

Once everyone was accounted for, they were all sent their separate ways back to their homes. It was now just the three of them alone on the ground floor as Sooyoung waited to be told what to do. Her mother let out a long sigh as she reproached her only daughter. 

"I promise we will explain everything to you, but right now we want to show you something," her mother held her hand as her father came up behind them and began to lead them to a guarded elevator. The ride up was silent, but not as deafening as it once was.

Reaching the designated floor, Sooyoung stepped out and was greeted by two familiar faces. Everything soon fell into place in her mind as the three approached the Kims, who stood at the end of the hallway. 

Mrs. Kim was the first to move towards Sooyoung. "My god you've grown beautifully," her smile was bright and nostalgic. Sooyoung reciprocated her gesture and whispered back, "it's good to see too aunt chae, and sorry for not remembering you." Sooyoung pulled back to see Mrs. Kim shaking her head. "You haven't seen us since you were a toddler Soo, I'd be surprised if you did remember me." She still had her smile, the smile that made Sooyoung almost remember her. 

"I almost did, I think it's your hair that threw me off, and you," she pointed to the male next to her father, "that speech you gave in there, nice touch." The male, her "uncle" Jeon, gave a wide smile and a laugh. "Thank you, I was nervous, could you tell?" Sooyoung was glad her family was able to laugh together, even with the over hanging situation. 

Even though they weren't her blood related family, Sooyoung and her parents always treated the Kims as if they were. The trip that Mr.Kim had mentioned was the trip the two couples had met on. Though they were in different fields, the four instantly clicked as friends upon meeting one another and even kept in touch after the expedition. Sooyoung only remembered so much of the two, seeing as they hadn't seen the girl since she was younger. She could pick up a few blurry memories, but most were too cloudy to completely replay. 

"I hope you aren't too mad at us Sooyoung," Her father began, "you have to understand we kept this from you for your own safety. If something had happened to you and it was our fault..." the atmosphere in the room grew dense as he spoke, "we'd never be able to live with ourselves." 

Sooyoung was still uncertain about all of the new things she was learning, but what her father was saying made perfect sense. If anything it just reiterated one thing to Sooyung: there was nothing her parents wouldn't do for her. 

•

"And this is our office."

The room was lined top to bottom with windows looking over the city. The sun was just beginning its decent, giving the sky a mixture of pink and orange hues. The room had two mahogany desks, giving each individual their own work space. The floors were marble and simple, yet elegant light fixtures hung from the tall ceilings.

Sooyoung strode around, not particularly looking at anything as her parents made their ways to their assigned desks. 

"So... are you going to tell me what this is all about?" Sooyoung was still in need of answers. Her parents nodded, motioning her over. 

"You see Sooyoung," her father began, "when your mother and I went on that trip we helped discover that... substance. We knew it could be used to do great things, but what held it was a certain species of mosquito. We knew we couldn't harvest it due to the complexity and frail ness of the bug, but that didn't mean the liquid couldn't be transferred. It's still undetermined, but we believe that everyone who was bitten by that specific species, was injected with the substance." 

"So it's like a virus?" 

"Not excactly, but similar in a way. The thing is we figured the person bitten would be the one with the genetic mutation, but in actuality it was the offspring that harnessed the abilities."

Sooyoung whipped her head up to eye her mother, "you were bitten."

"The one day I didn't wear bug spray," her mother had a small sarcastic smile on her face as it soon clicked for Sooyoung. "So when you were born, we knew we had to test you for this liquid, and you were positive." 

"So what about me, when do I get my powers?" 

Sooyoungs parents shared looks with one another, "soon, but we wanted to be there for you when you harnessed them, plus you are the the only female we've ever injected, we fear that your body may react differently. We may need to take certain precautions.

A feeling of warmth filled Sooyoungs chest as her parents kept on with their explanation. 

"Once you were born and checked we kept it a secret until you would be older and more mature. We didn't want you to be thrown into this world before you were old enough, but we still wanted you to be ready."

Sooyoung nodded, "that's why I always stayed so active, you wanted me in shape so I could do well."

"We kept you active so you could do this safely, everything we've done is to keep you safe. And now we have twenty one other boys we need to keep safe," her mother stated. 

"So they were all born with this? How do you know their aren't more?" 

"We don't know, that's the thing. There could be many more individuals with this substance, You twenty two are the only ones we've detected so far." Her parents knew only so much of whose been effected so far, but they were always keeping an eye out for new recipients.

Sooyoung sat and began to process the information more before her dad began to chuckle to himself. 

"What is it?" Sooyoung asked as her dad kept on with his laughter.

"I guess you might get that boyfriend after all soo, there are a few eligible bachelors in that group." Her father wiggled his brows as Sooyoung looked for the nearest thing to chuck at him. 

"Yah, don't say that, I don't know anything about them and neither do you," Sooyoung stayed pointing a finger at her father. 

"That's what you think, but we know all about those boys... you could take a look at their files if you wa-" 

Sooyoung quickly shook her head, "I'm good, besides I doubt any of them will want to talk to me much now anyways... some don't seem like the type to socialize with someone like me." 

Sooyoung was okay with the fact that some of those boys might not want to talk to her that much, seeing as it might creep them out with her family situation. But that was just an assumption.

~


	14. XII

"Does this mean we'll have to quit the team?"

The three boys stood outside of the large stadium as they waited for a black vehicle they knew would be arriving soon. 

"I don't know Mark, we might... we'll have to ask Dr. Lee or Mr. Kim if it'll be possible to play and do all of this." Johnny didn't know what else to say, nor did he have the energy to keep the conversation up. He hadn't slept the past night, his mind to busy running wild with different thought of what could come of all of this. 

"I don't want to though, Ive worked too hard to be on the team this year, it wouldn't be fair." Mark knew he how he sounded, but he wasn't going to give up his spot on the Varsity team that easily. He had spent countless days and wasted too many summers to not play the entire season this year. He and Xiao Jun were the only two freshman on the team, seeing as they had the same skill levels as one another and kept the same pace as the others on the upper level team. 

" I know it'll be hard Mark, but this is really serious, we can always play next year, we may never get another opportunity like this one."

Xiao Jun had a valid point, but it still didn't lessen the sick feeling the other freshman had in his tummy. It would take some time for him to accept this new change if it came to that, but maybe he could do both.

As Mark began think his new theory through, an unmarked large black suburban pulled up alongside the curb. A day ago, this would've caused the boys to panic, but now they willingly open the door and pile themselves inside. They weren't alone, a few other boys were already seated in the far back seats as two agents occupied the front. 

It was quiet as the car began to pull away, none of the boys really being aquatinted with one another. Johnny couldn't stand the stuffy quiet ride for longer than ten minutes. He had to say something. Anything.

"So... how is everyone?" Johnny turned his head so he could look at the people who sat behind them. He'd seen them on campus, maybe in a class or two, but never in a situation where they had spoken to one another. 

"As good as I can be with all of this, I guess." It was the boy on johnny's far left that spoke first, causing all the boys in the middle row to turn around. 

"I'm Doyoung by the way." 

"Hey," Xiao jun started, "you all work at that really good coffee shop don't you." The three boys began to nod with small smiles as the two youngest boys both gushed over their regular orders. 

"Well I'm Johnny, this is Mark and Xiao Jun."

"This is Kun and Jungwoo, it's nice to meet a few of you guys." Doyoung smiled softly at the boy in front of him. He knew it was going to be difficult for all the boys to integrate themselves into one another's lives, but he figured they would have to do it eventually. Might as well get a head start.

"So what cool powers do you guys have," Mark slung his arm across his row of seats, making Johnny hate himself for taking the middle one as the freshman leaned his much smaller figure against the door of the car. 

"We haven't really tried... well I haven't at least. I didn't hear anything break last night so I'm assuming neither did you two. But maybe I'm wrong." It was jungwoo who spoke as he maneuvered his own body to lean back. Doyoung nodded his head but the other boy kept still, his eyes locked with the leather on the back of the middle row of seats.

"What about you Kun? Did you try anything last night?" Doyoung himself knew the latter had discovered his ability, making him the only one of the friends to have any balls. His room is right across the hall, on the opposite side of the apartment from Jungwoos. He hadn't heard anything because it was too far for his ears to register, but Doyoung has heard the faint curse and the dropping of an object around ten o clock the night before. 

The oldest out of the friends locked eyes with Doyoung Before he picked up his back pack and shakily unzipped the front pocket. Confused, the boys around him watched quietly as the latter carefully began to focus on the newly opened compartment. 

Johnny watched on as seconds went by and nothing happened. He felt bad, thinking the poor guy had probably gone mad over thinking about all of this too much, but his thoughts were suddenly cut off when a wooden pencil was shot right out of the opening. All the boys, even kun, instinctively flinched as the writing material flung itself into the roof of the car and ricocheted off, dropping down by the feet of the males in the far back seat.

"Holy shit, you can throw things with your mind."

In a simple term, yes. "Pretty much," a soft voice filled the car. "I mean I only figured it out when I went to lay down last night and forgot my phone across the room. I was annoyed cause I had already gotten in bed and didn't feeling like moving. When I sat up so I could go get it, my phone started shaking and..." kun clapped his hands to finish off his statement. He had seen the post of people dropping their phones on their faces as they browsed Social Media's before bed, but never did he think he would have his phone literally smack him in the face. From across the room. 

"Telekinesis... I've read about that," jungwoo began. "What about you three... what are your abilities?" 

Johnny shook his head, "nothing yet for me, Lee? Jun? You two figure yours out?" Xiao jun shook his head as well, he didn't have time the night before. "Mark?"

The boys head shot up, "I don't know... maybe? It could've been a fluke thing but I might've figured it out." 

"Well show us."

The freshman nodded his head before squaring his body with Johnny. "Hey, do you think I can have five bucks?" The boys in the car all watched on as Johnny's face scrunched. 

"No, why would I give-" the boy cut off his own sentence as he locked eyes with the younger male. A sudden sensation filled the car as the oldest male unwillingly reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed the boy a bill. Everyone had to pick their jaws up off the floor as Mark pocketed the five dollars and leaned back as of nothing happened. 

"Okay, that's not fair. Me and my already crippling bank account want out."

•

When the six males had arrived at the large building in the heart of downtown, they were greeted by another set of against and escorted to a large room already occupied by their counterparts.

"Do it again!"

"No, it hurts my head, plus I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't! Now come on and do it again! I wanna see if I can touch it!" 

The boy could only roll his eyes harder. He had just gotten his ability under control, but he definitely wasn't ready to do it around other individuals yet. 

"Chenle, please leave Hendery alone, if you want to see a power so bad, why don't you show us yours?" 

The boy under persecution only rolled his eyes, "whatever you say Haechan, but you'll have to give me a hand." 

With that said, Chenle turned his back and faced the wall. This caught most people's attention as the two friends stood a few feet from one another. Haechan was skeptical about this, but it would just count as more practice for himself. He lifted his hand up to his waist, a small flame igniting itself in the boys palm. As it grew, Chenle's sense only heightened, his mind going into a hyperactive mode. It was as if he had eyes all around, looking and watching for what could come. 

Without warning, Haechan retracted his arm before pitching the small ball of flames at the back of the younger boys bead. No one knew what was more shocking, the fact that Haechan was able to muster up the fire itself, or the swift motion Chenle made just before the gas was able to grace his skin. 

"I'm so glad you know what you're doing, because it would've really made me look bad if you didn't." Haechan released the breath he didn't know he was holding as Chenle wore a bright smile. The boy had come into class that day saying he had "eyes in the back of his head."

The statement only caused his friends to give him astonished looks before he successfully predicted a series of events that would unfold in the class room. Renjun has called it incredible, Yangyang called him a psychic, Haechan called him a witch doctor. It was either that or a psycho, Chenle took his pick.

"Of course I know what I'm doing, I wouldn't have let you throw fire at me if I didn't, I'm not that crazy." 

Haechan only made a face as the large doors in the room opened for what seemed like the tenth time that day. This time it was the Doctors coming in.

"Good afternoon gentlemen, I can see some of you have made some great progress on obtaining your abilities." About half of the boys in the room nodded their heads, while the others stayed stagnant.

"And if you haven't that's okay, today we will just individually check on you to make sure nothing went wrong yesterday. It might take you longer to get your power, you shouldn't worry too much about it."

That made the boys like Yuta who hadn't figured out their powers feel a little better. He was still trying to push himself a little every minute to see if something had changed or if he felt different. Even on the ride over here, he would continuously do little quirks, trying to maybe knock something into place. 

Sooyoung has noticed him, seeing as she was the one next to him in the car, and couldn't help but laugh as the boy would poke and prod his own body. He looked nuts, really, but she could only imagine what it felt like to not know what power she had. She hoped the same thing wouldn't happen to her, but time would only tell.

"Now then, we'll start with Mr. Moon, and work our way down."

With that the four doctors quickly gathered all the kids and began running simple tests to see what was changing in their bodies. 

"Now Taeil, are you sure you're feeling well." It was Mrs. Kim who asked as she checked his vitals. 

"I'm sure ma'am, just a little nervous is all."

Mrs.Kim nodded, "and that's understandable, just take your time and get a good feel of the people around you. You'll do just fine." With that she wrote down a few numbers in what taeil assumed was his chart and sent him off. He himself knew his power, he had figured it out today in class when a patient had came in with a pretty bad gash in their leg. 

It had been an accident at work, but once Taeil got his hands on the man it was like magic. He shocked himself when he lifted them only to see a small scar taking its place. When his supervisor asked, he told him it was an old 'scar treatment' remedy his grandmother had taught him. He couldn't think of anything better. The boy felt it was ironic his power was healing, but he guesses they really were born with these abilities. He guessed that's why even growing up, Taeil wanted to be a doctor.

Time ticked on as each individual boy was checked. By the end of it all, the doctors had determined that half of the boys had obtained their abilities, while the other half were taking a little longer.

"Now that you all look healthy, we can start training."

"What kind of training?"

"Physical, mental, and some emotional training. If you guys are going to help us keep the planet safe, we need you all the be absolutely ready."

"I don't mean to sound cocky, but what if we don't need training?"

Dr. Lee did his best to hold in a laugh, "I know you might not think it Mr. Wong, but trust me, it won't hurt you to train more. Maybe you could even help your teammates out with a few pointers." 

Yukhei nodded instantly at the mention of helping out a teammate. 

"Now then, there are a few more things we need to inform you on, then you can ask us any questions you'd like, and you'll be on your way."

The boys all gathered in closer as Mr.Kim took center stage and began explaining their schedules. 

"You all will come in and train Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's. Tuesday's and Thursday's are off days, but you are more than welcome to come in, we just know most of you have sports, jobs, and other commitments."

Mark felt his body relax as he heard the man say all of this. It would be difficult, but as long as their was a possibility he would still be able to play on the football team, he was going to give this his all. 

"I think that's pretty much everything for now. Tomorrow is Saturday so please go home and enjoy the weekend. We have a cell phone for you. These devices will be for work only, so don't lose them. They will give you updates, and send messages if we need you for anything."

Once everyone was equipped with their new technology, they were once again sent out into the lobby to wait for transportation. 

"Hey Sooyoung," The girl in question turned around to see Yuta walking up behind her. 

"You okay? I didn't get a chance to ask you about yesterday?"

She nodded her head. They had drove over here together, but the car ride was filled with younger boys in the back seat having a power talent show, which she didn't mind, she kind of found it cute how excited they all were. She kept telling herself not to go soft, but it was much harder than she imagined. 

"I'm all good Yuta, I appreciate the concern. We talked it out and I understand a lot more." 

The boy smiled, "I'm glad, well I guess I'll see you next week?" 

Sooyoung nodded and the boy left with a wave. It was going to be hard for Sooyoung to get used to constant human interaction, but if she tried her best, and they were all kind of like Yuta, she knew she'd do just fine.

~


	15. XIII

"You're too hunched over."

The cool wind from the air conditioner made the baby hairs on the back of Sooyoungs neck stand at attention. She knew she should've brought a jacket to training today, but opted for her usual workout attire instead. She took a quick one over of the large room, noticing plenty of different scenarios taking place.

"If you stand like that you'll never be able to stay on your feet, your attacker will easily be able to drop you."

Everyone was scattered around the large gym provided by the company. It had designated areas for weights and machines on the far left, while the other side had a pristine shooting range. It fit the twenty two individuals easily as they were all occupied with their own tasks. 

When they initially arrived, each boy was given a workout regimen, determined by their physicals the previous day. They were all on different levels, seeing as some boys were more active than others. They also had a certain time where they would go in and practice controlling their powers in a confined space. 

"Excuse me?" The boy positioned on the mat whipped his head up, eyeing the other male critiquing him. 

"You're too hunched over, you should fix your posture. Also, your legs are too close, stand with them shoulder width apart."

The latter huffed, "and who are you to waltz up here and act like you know everything."

"Look man I didn't mean to come off rude, all I'm saying is you might need to work on technique, it took me months to find my perfect posture in practice."

The boy on the mat straightened his back making himself a little taller, though it didn't matter because the other male was much larger than first anticipated. 

"Who are you?" The boy has been wanting to know this information since the minute he walked in. 

"Lucas... I wrestle for the school...so I thought I could help you out... maybe give you some pointers?" It sounded as though he was asking instead of telling.

"Well Lucas I appreciate the thought but I think I can figure this out."

With that, jungwoo readjusted himself in front of the dummy he was 'sparring' against. He wasn't the most active individual because he was an already very busy one. He had his school work, the coffee shop, and an important roll on the schools Student Council. 

"Okay, sorry to bother you," with that, Lucas turned his back to leave. He made his way towards an adjacent mat where he saw his younger teammate already squaring up to an opponent. At first he didn't think anyone would want to fight hand to hand, but most of the boys liked the idea. Something about "getting a taste of some real fighting."

"Hey cap, hows it going?" Jaemin stood to attention as he saw Lucas making his way towards him. 

"Its going alright Nana, and you don't have to call me that when we're not at practice." The older male smiled at his energetic teammate. "And whose this?"

The new boy stood up as well before bowing slightly with respect. "I'm Jeno, nice to meet you."

Lucas smiled, "pleasures all mine, do you guys mind if I watch the you two?" 

"Not at all." Both boys nodded as Lucas backed off the mat, allowing the others to have the maximum amount of room to spar. The two boys turned to face one another, sizing each other up before taking their stances. 

"You ready lee?" 

The latter scoffed, "I've been ready."

With that, both males lunged forward, fists and swift kicks colliding with one another. Though it was different from what he was used to, Jaemin did his best to keep up with the different style of fighting. The boy was a wrestler, not a martial artist. He wasn't used to kicks and punches being flung all over, but he was good with defensive moves. He could also feel the eyes of the older boy, his idol and teacher, analyzing his every move. He really wanted Lucas here so he could ask what his thoughts were. Maybe some improvements as well.

Jaemin was brought back down to earth when a particularly hard jab was sent into his rib cage, successfully knocking the wind out of him.

"Oof." The boy took a tumble, gasping for air as he did his best to regain his balance. It didn't do him any good though, as Jeno used this to his advantage. He quickly gripped the younger boys arm and maneuvered him onto his stomach. If Jaemin wasn't already in an excruciating amount of pain, the twisting of his arm and reoccurring pressure on his chest (the same spot Jeno already struck) he sure as hell was now. 

"Okay, Okay," the boy did his best to tap out and make a noise, seeing as he was struggling to keep his air supply. 

Jeno immediately hopped of the latter as Lucas quickly ran up to the youngest of the three. 

"Hey, Na... you Okay?" Lucas went into leader mode: seeing one of his boys hurt made him anxious. 

"My god... I'm so sorry Jaemin, I shouldn't have been so rough..." Jeno dropped to his knees, trying to assist the younger into a sitting position. 

The only thing Jaemin could do was shake his head and gasp quietly. 

"I'm going to go get him some water, I'll be right back." Lucas jogged over to the water fountain, grabbing a small plastic cup along the way.

Back on the mat, Jaemin still struggled to catch his breath, face hot. He wasn't actually hot, more embarrassed. Not only did he get dropped in front of Lucas, he got dropped by a boy who had probably never fought before in his life. 

"Yah, you're not going to pass out on me are you?"

Jaemin only turned redder. Today just wasn't his day. He did his best to muster up a witty comeback, only to have it come out as a wheeze when he opened his mouth. Thankfully Lucas returned with some water, saving him from embarrassing himself further. 

"Here buddy, just take a minute."  
Jaemin drank the water with a shaky hand as Lucas rubbed his back. It wasn't the first time he had to help the younger boy pace himself, and he definitely knew it wouldn't be the last. 

"I feel so bad." 

"Don't overthink it kid, he'll be alright. He's a tough cookie." Lucas knew how the latter felt. You'd think one would be happy, proud that he just won his match, but that wasn't the reality. He knew Jeno felt bad for hurting the other, especially since it was an intentional, friendly fight. 

Once Jaemin had his breathing back under control and finished the last few drops of his drink, he made his move to get up. 

"I'm going to take a seat, excuse me," his voice was raspy as he took off, leaving a worried Lucas and a guilty Jeno. 

Jeno went to follow after him, but was cut off by Lucas grabbing his shoulder. "Let him sulk. Trust me, I know Jaemin. The thing that is bruised most is his pride."

The younger nodded. "Do you think I was too rough?" 

Lucas shook his head, "not at all. You have to understand something. Jaemin and I are wrestlers. We're not used to hand to hand combat. But you seem pretty aquatinted with it."

Jeno shook his head. "Not really, It just felt right you know? You ever feel like you know what you're doing... even if you've never done it before."

"Well, if you don't mind, do you think you could help me with a few things?" 

A small smile graced Jenos lips, "sure thing."

•

"Fuck" the sound of skin hitting mat resinated throughout the gym.

"Damn Sooyoung, that's the third person you've beaten. It's only been fifteen minutes, you should space it out a little, don't you think?"

The girl smiled smugly as she tightened her ponytail. "I don't like to waste time."

A boy on the side of the mat scoffed, "yeah ain't that the truth."

"You're just salty she dropped your ass the quickest Jaehyun." 

The boy under fire leaned back on his arms, "don't act all high and mighty mark, she beat you just as quickly as she did me." 

Mark made an annoyed face before turning his attention back to the mat. If there was one thing he would take away from today: don't fuck with Sooyoung. She could kick some major ass.

The next boy up was one of the biggest in the group. Sooyoung lines herself up with Johnny, her final match for the day. 

"You ready?" 

The boy nodded his head slowly, trying his best not to show weakness. He got into his stance, doing his best to mirror the girl in front of him. 

"Okay you two, keep it clean. I'm looking at you lee."

It was Yuta mediating her matches, seeing as he already knew most of Sooyoungs fighting tricks. 

At that, the girl scoffed, throwing a sly wink in her opponents direction. Her flirty action caused the boys littered around her mat to get rowdy. Whistles and 'ohs' echoed as the fight began. 

Sooyoung was quick to size up Johnny. There was a very distinct size difference between the two, the top of Sooyoungs head barley reaching Johnny's shoulder. But that didn't stop the girl from using her smaller size to her advantage.

Due to Johnny's large size, his movements weren't as quick as Sooyoungs. She easily maneuvered around the male, making him disoriented and unbalanced. Johnny threw a quick punch, only to have it blocked and counteracted by the female. Grasping his fist in her own, Sooyoung mustered up her strength to pin Johnny's right arm behind his back. 

"Argh!" A painful cry left the boys lips. The boy knew his arm did not bend that way. With his mind preoccupied, it was easy for the girl to dead-leg him, sending the boy onto his knees. 

"Holy shit"

Sooyoung quickly let the boy go and went to offer him a hand. Johnny lifted his eyes to the girl before accepting her gesture. 

"Wow... you ever thought of playing football?" The others laughed as Sooyoung shook her head, a small grin on her face. It was weird for there to be so many people in the gym with her, but it wasn't all that bad. In reality, it was kind of nice to show off for once. 

"Yeah, I'm sure she could take on a few linemen." 

"I appreciate the thought, but I have this to worry about. I don't have time for a sport." Sooyoung went to grab her bottled water and take a swig. She was done sparring for the day, she didn't want to over work herself.

"Well, If you're ever in the market for an extra-circular, we could use someone like you on the team." 

It was weird for there to be so much attention on Sooyoung, and she didn't quite know how to feel about it. Most of the boys weren't that bad, but she couldn't really see herself socializing with them outside of the company. Sooyoung figured they were just being nice, maybe because the fact her parents basically had all the boys under their 'employment'. It made the pit in her stomach grow, but she covered it up with a small smile. 

She knew this wouldn't be an everyday occurrence. At least that's what she thought.

~


	16. XIV

"Are you sure you can't come with us? It's a Friday night!"

Sooyoung unzipped her back pack and began piling her books into her locker. 

"Yeah, I'm sure Chan. I told you guys I'd be busy on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's from now on. I'm sure I'm free tomorrow though."

The boy that stood behind her sighed.   
"Okay, but you better pull through, I've been having to deal with Yerin and Minhyuck by myself these past few days."

Sooyoung turned to the boy while shutting her locker. She gave him an overly dramatic pout, tilting her head to the side.   
"You poor poor thing. It's not like I've been gone for months. It's been a few weeks Chan." 

The boy rolled his eyes before turning to walk down the hall along side his friend. "It's felt like months," he mumbled. 

"What? You know I don't hear well Chan."

"Nothing, just get your ass to my house on Saturday. Seven sharp, don't be late lee." With that, Chan turned to his left, making a swift exit.

Sooyoung shook here head while walking down the quiet corridor. It was after school hours so the halls were pretty much empty, seeing as most kids would want to leave as soon as possible on a Friday. The girl didn't mind the quiet, if anything she quite enjoyed it. Sooyoung cherished her alone time, especially now since the new additions to her life.

Since joining the company, which sooyoungs parents had explained as AlphaGate Cooperations, her life hasn't been all that different. For herself at least. 

She couldn't really speak for the others, seeing as they had been injected and she hadn't. She noticed small changes in the boys she personally knew, which wasn't many.

(She had spoken to maybe five of them, not counting Yuta.) 

The others either being too focused, too uninterested in her, or just plain scary. It was mainly Yuta who Sooyoung monitored as his body physically changed. It had only been a few weeks but the Japanese boy already had much sharper and prominent attributes, not to mention his skill level  
increasing.

Losing track of time, Sooyoung had already reached the far east side of campus, where she saw a group of familiar boys standing. They were waiting on the sidewalk for a car, the same ride that she herself would soon have to squeeze into with them.

She knew their faces, but their names just sat on the tip of her tongue. She watched from afar as the boys laughed and joked with one another, not wanting to interrupt or intrude. She still felt like an outsider amongst the boys, seeing as most of them kind of got along. 

(She knew not all of them did though, Yuta was keeping her in the drama loop.)

Feeling awkward, Sooyoung reached into her bag and grabbed her ear buds. She slipped the snug devices into her ears before hitting the shuffle button on her playlist. She slowly moved her body around, kicking at a small pebble that sat near her right heel. It wasn't until the song began to change and the few seconds of silence ensued that Sooyoung heard a voice call for her. 

The girl whipped her head up, almost too fast, before she came face to face with one of the boys. She knew him of course, but his name was just not in there. She felt awful. Really, she did. 

"Why are you standing over here?"

Well that was a rude question.

Sooyoung scrunched her face in confusion, her mind instantly going to defend herself and her innocent actions. "um... waiting for the ride? Why? can I not do that?"

The boys eyes quickly widened, "no! Of course not, I was just wondering why you were waiting over here." The boy made a circular motion with his arms.

Sooyoung knew most of the boys weren't 'A plus' students, but really? It couldn't be this bad. "Well where else would I stand?" She couldn't help but put up a front, her face going cold. For all she knew this kid could be punking her.

"With us? Why didn't you just come stand with us?" 

Well, don't I look like a cunt. 

"Oh... OH, you meant with you guys." The boy nodded his head slowly, seeing as the girl was genuinely confused for a moment. 

With a red face, Sooyoung moved to join the small group of boys. They were all silent for a moment, before continuing with their previous conversation as if nothing had happened.

"But yeah, I'm pretty sure her eyebrows are gone."

"Dude, I don't know whether to be proud, or beat your ass for her."

"The first one, you should do the first one."

Ok. it was definitely better over there.

"Ok, did anyone else discover their abilities besides haechan."

Sooyoung looked around. It was obvious that this was the quieter group of boys. The ones that Yuta had introduced to her were much more rowdy and energetic, except for that Haechan kid. He was a real character.

"What about you? Did they ever inject you?"

Realizing the person was talking about her, Sooyoung quickly raised her head, "uh... no, not yet. They said I should wait."

The boys nodded, "it's not like she needs it, I saw her kick some ass the other day."  
Everyone in the circle began to nod as the girl could only smile. She really wasn't used to all this attention.

"It's nothing... really..."

"You call that nothing? You took down Johnny... he's like a literal giant."  
The boy on her left looked incredulously at her.

"Well, soon all you boys will be just as good as me, probably even better." Sooyoung knew what she was saying is true, her parents explained the side effects of the injections.   
The main one being muscle and tissue development. 

"Man, I can only pray that one day I'll be able to take down the great Johnny Seo."

"Damn, if that's your goal in life you should really get out more."

"It's not, but can you blame me?"  
None of the boys could find an argument to disagree. 

"Well, all I know is I'm excited for the weekend."

A chorus of "same" and cheers followed and Sooyoung agreed. She enjoyed getting to train during the week, but that didn't mean she was immune to school work, and it was piling up. She had a paper due, but seeing as Chan already made plans for her, she would have to complete it on Sunday. 

"Do any of you guys have plans?"

Some boys nodded their heads, "Yeah I have a date at the library." The others 'oh' and clapped.

"With who? The girl in algebra?"

"What? No, renjun I don't like her like that, she just gave me the answers that one time. What I meant was I have a date at the library with my Literature paper."

Sooyoung nodded to herself, "I feel that."

"What?" The four boys all turned to the girl.

"Oh... I was just saying I felt that. I have a physics paper due Monday and I haven't started. I have plans tomorrow night so I'll have to buckle down on Sunday and just do it."

They all nodded except one, the youngest of the present group.  
"A paper in physics... they do that?"

The girl only shook her head, "I guess so, it's twenty percent of my grade for this semester so i need to do well."

"Remind me to not sign up for that class," The boy mumbled. 

"It's not that bad chenle, physics is actually quite interesting."

"Only to you renjun, only to you," chenle was quick to reply.

"Yah, dont talk to me like that, I'm still older than you." Renjun huffed.

"Yes renjun, we know you're older. But you're still at the bottom of the Totem poll like the rest of us." Haechan threw back.

Sooyoung scrunched her face, the comparison surprising her.

"Ugh, don't remind me. Even those basketball kids are higher up than us. The one guy is even younger than me and he's still walking around like he's all that," chenles whole demeanor changed.

Oh shit, the tea.

"They're not all bad, guys," hendery pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"That's what you say, but some of those guys are just real bone heads. Especially that lee kid." 

"Taeyong?"

"No, no the other one. Not Jeno but the older guy. Football player... is so far up Johnny's ass you can't even see him anymore."

"Ha!" Sooyoung quickly covered her mouth, her outburst catching the boys attention.   
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Don't be, I'm funny." Haechan grinned at the girl, proud of himself.

"Your friends right though." Sooyoung looked at the boys seriously. "they're really not that bad. Some are a little much, for me at least." Renjun nodded his head to that. "I'm a little bit of an outsider with all of you guys but trust me, you're all really surprising me. Give them a chance." Sooyoung had succeeded in getting their attention.

"I did."

~


	17. XV

"The next time Chan calls me 'rich bitch', I'm going to kick his ass." Sooyoung mumbled to herself as she rang the bell at the large rod iron gate. It stood tall in front of the estate that belonged to her long time friend. Checking her phone, she noticed the time. 

"It's seven, I live another day."  
The loud sound of buzzing and the slow motion of the gates opening caught Sooyoungs attention as she placed her phone in her back pocket. She walked up the long drive way, making her way towards the large wood front door.  
Before she could even ring the bell, said door flew open revealing a very excited Yerin.

"I missed you, soo!"

"You saw me yesterday, at school, it's been less than twenty four hours babe." 

Yerin pouted, "am I not allowed to miss my best friend?"

The latter rolled her eyes playfully, "yes you are, now come on you sap, let's go." With that, Sooyoung lead them further into the very familiar Park household. She'd been running down these halls since primary school, which felt like ages ago now.

Walking into the kitchen, the two other friends that were attending this 'get together' were gathering supplies for a game night. 

"Finally, took you long enough." Minhyuck said while shutting the microwave door.

"Hey, I was here at seven like the Sargent told me to," Sooyoung popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth as she leaned on the counter next to Minhyuck. 

"Don't just sit there and eat. Help Minhyuck bring these into the game room and don't drop them."

"And don't drop them," Minhyuck chuckled as Sooyoung reluctantly picked up the bowls and began walking up the stairs. She had mastered the art of mimicry, specifically Chan, years ago. It was her secret talent.

Up the spiral stairs and to the left, was a set of double doors that concealed an over extravagant game room. It had pin ball machines lining the walls and a brilliant billiard table sitting proudly under a set of bright lights in the middle of the room.

Placing the bowls on the coffee table, Sooyoung threw herself back onto the plush sectional. She was beyond tired and the warmth from the sofa and pillows weren't helping. It also didn't help that she could hear Yerin and Chan bickering as they walked up the stairs and into the game room.

"Alrighty troops, let the games... begin."

Sooyoung did her best to hide her eye roll, but it didn't go unnoticed as Chan pinched her side in retaliation.

"Yah..." the girl swung at the boy, giving him an unimpressed look.

"Yah" Chan whined back.

"Ok you two, can we cool it for a minute. We need to pick a game." Yerin plopped herself next to Sooyoung on the leather couch.

"How about-"

"We're not playing Monopoly, you're a shit sport." Sooyoung snorted loudly as Minhyuck shot Chan an annoyed look.

"I am not, you just always cheat!" The boys voice rose an octave at the accusation.

"Min, how the fuck do you cheat at monopoly."

"Don't ask me, as him." Chan pushes the outstretched arm away, making the other male pout more. 

"What about you Soo, what do you want to play?"

Sooyoung lolled her head to the side, facing Yerin. "Let's play nap time, first person to fall asleep wins."

"Wrong, try again."

With a huff, Sooyoung sat upright, "fine, let's Clue."

"You always want to play clue," Minhyuck began to make room on the table while Chan made his way to the game cabinet.

"Yeah, cause she wins every time." Yerin scooted off the couch to sit on the floor in-front of the low-rise coffee table.

"Hey it's not my fault you all are to damn impatient to play the game properly," Sooyoung mirrored yerins actions as she grabbed for her drink. 

"No, you're just a psychic, you know who it's going to be before I even put the cards into the envelope," Chan commented as he placed the box on the table and began setting the pieces up. 

"Whatever you say Chan. Whatever you say."

•

"She did what!?"

The boys were all seated around the coffee table, drinks in hand. They finally had a night to hang by themselves, and they were going to take advantage of it. 

"Wait, tell the story again, I think I'm going crazy," Johnny sat with his legs up, trying his best to understand what Jaehyun had just said while being slightly impaired.It wasn't a big group, just a handful of guys hanging and telling stories. 

When Johnny has moved here, he'd only met a few other people, but now that he had the football team and the other boys at Alpha Gate, he found himself begin around a constant group of friends.

It was a nice change of pace, seeing as the male had never stayed in one place for more than a few months, but now he felt like he had to stay. He had a purpose with all of these guys. It was scary how quickly he was getting attached to all of them, well the ones who liked him, and it had only been a few weeks. 

"I'm being serious, she was walking on the opposite side of the street and then all of a sudden just started reeking havoc on this guy. It was like a movie scene."

"Dude, where do you buy your groceries? You always have the wackiest stories." Yuta made the move to stand up, going into the small kitchen of his apartment to grab himself another drink. 

Popping the cap with the bottom of his t shirt, the boy made his way back inside the living room, taking his spot next to Mark. The youngest wasn't drinking, but he could still keep up with the older ones who were. Usually Xiao Jun would join him, seeing as they were the same age, but the boy was busy this evening. 

"I go a little further north, I know the owner of the little market I shop at." Jaehyun took another swig of his own drink before placing it on the coffee table. "I know I don't need to go that far, but the old lady is just so nice."

"I don't know man, crazy women in a bad part of town," Yuta have his friends a knowing look, which they all returned. 

"Speaking of crazy," Johnny turned to his left. "How did that date go Jae?"

The boy in question shifted uncomfortably, "eh, you know... same old same old." He picked up his drink again, the sudden need to drown his thoughts in alcohol becoming way too prominent.

"Was it that bad?"

Jaehyun gave Johnny a look. A look saying 'please don't ask me anymore, because if you do I'll burst into flames."

The older raised his hands in defeat, "Hey man, could've been worse."

"You have no idea," Jaehyun mumbled. "She was psycho."

Mark hummed, "most of them are."

"Mark, what do you know about women?" Yuta looked at the wide receiver from his own spot.

"Enough to know that they're beyond crazy. I think I've only spoke to three girls that didn't have a vendetta against another person. Three!"

"They're not all bad lee, you've just gotta find the right one, though it's hard, they're out there." Johnny finished off his second drink, making the mental note to stop himself while he still could. 

"Name one girl," Mark was suddenly regretting not taking Yuta up on the offer of a beer. He declined, but he knew if he hadn't he could've always slept on the couch and took off in the morning. 

"Ok, what about Sooyoung?" 

The boy scrunched his face, "I wouldn't even count her, she doesn't even act like a girl, besides I don't know her that well yet."

"That's the best part," Yuta said, pointing his finger. "When i first met her, she completely blew my mind. She never went easy on me and I never went easy on her in training. She's not 'one of the guys' but she's just a cool chick. There's still so much to learn about her."

"I agree, I mean with the little bit of talking we've done, it's obvious she's really different."  
The group all nodded, understanding where Yuta and Johnny were coming from.

Sooyoung was a special one.

"Well boys, all I know is we need to keep her around. She's definitely someone I want to get to know better. There's just something about her."

Now that was something they could all agree on.

~


	18. XVI

"Alright guys, gather around."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and quickly gathered around Mr. Kim. He had been observing them closely, making sure their bodies weren't experiencing anything out of the ordinary. 

"I'm happy to inform that you all seem to be adjusting well, and we can begin to advance further with our missions."

The boys all cheered softly, excited they were finally going to be doing something other than just fighting one another. It made for good practice, but it definitely made some tension rise between the trainees. They were tired from the constant practice, especially those who didn't usually do much physical activity to begin with. That, mixed with mountains of school work, and extra curriculars put some of them on edge. 

Which, oddly enough, wouldn't have been so bad for Sooyoung if it hadn't meant there would be some kind of scuffle every other day with these boys. She was slowly learning their names, due to the constant yelling and bickering between sparring partners.

They had a rotating partner schedule that they constantly had to redo because they could never seem to get the perfect pairs down. They couldn't be constant, seeing as your opponent could easily pick up on your techniques and tricks, but there also weren't many pairings that actually worked out, leading to a lot of confrontations.

Some of the worst have been between Mark and Haechan, this Sooyoung has experienced first hand. It would mainly be Haechan to start them, but only after Mark would make either a less then appropriate comment, or a subtle jab at Haechans power control and fighting abilities. 

This would lead Haechan to get defensive, call out Mark for having 'a less than useless power' and maybe throw a punch. Or two, depended on how bad of day the younger male had been having before coming to the company. 

At first Sooyoung thought it was just playful banter, seeing as some of the other boys had on going jokes with one another, but it wasn't until one day when Johnny, Jaehyun, and Taeyong had to step in between the two, stopping the seemingly endless punches and slurs that flowed from both boys. That was one of the worst ones, but there had been plenty of other small petty squabbles between the fire wielder and the mind controller.

On the next episode of 'Keeping up with the trainees' there was the beef between Lucas and Jungwoo, the most mind boggling one in her opinion. She didn't understand because Lucas was arguably the nicest guy in the group. He was goofy, charming, and all around a big kid. The girl couldn't understand for the life of her why Jungwoo was so against the younger of the two. Their conflicts were never physical, seeing as Lucas never allowed it to escalate that far, but that didn't mean they were any less petty. Lucas would try and give his senior a tip or an adjustment and the latter would give a snarky comment in response. 

The worse part was that Lucas knew what he was talking about, and if jungwoo could just put whatever awful image he had swimming in his head of the younger to rest, he could be one of the best hand to hand fighters on the team. 

That title belonged to yours truly, but Sooyoung didn't let that get to her head. 

It was obvious with every passing practice that the boy's skills were improving immensely. Soon Sooyoung knew she'd be on the bottom of the totem pole sooner than later.

"As you all know, we are working towards contact with the other worldly beings, and we think our first meeting will be within the next week." 

The tension in the room got impossibly thicker as everyone felt the rising anxiety of actually having seeing these creatures, or whatever they were. 

"While, your combat skills are impressive, we think the need for other means of defense are in order. So! Today we will be taking you to the shooting range. Y'know, to spice it up a little."

Sooyoung all but physically cringed as Mr. Kim did his best to make the sound of a room full of gun fire sound inviting. The girl wasn't nervous, but she couldn't say the same for some of the others.

At Mr. Kim's words, some of the boys stilled, not feeling as confident about the idea of actually shooting a fire arm, but it's not like they really had a choice anymore.

•

"You know you're actually supposed to hit the paper with the bullet, right?" 

Marks eyes rolled on instinct as the sound of an all to familiar voice echoed in the chamber of the range. His skin crawled as he took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his nerves.

"I do know that, Donghyuck. But thanks for your concern," Mark gritted out before turning back to face forward. He squared his shoulders and focused in on the center of the target. Clasping the Glock firmly in his hands, Mark raised his arms to eye level, keeping his stance firm and ready. He was zoning in on the paper silhouette of the 'person' when the same piercing voice interrupted his concentration. 

"You stand weird... and you look like you're closing both of your eyes. Can you even see?"

Mark was trying his best, he really was, to not snap on the younger, but he knew that's exactly what he wanted. Haechan wanted him to get riled up, maybe even throw a few insults back, but he wasn't going to let him get away with it today.

"I can see just fine Donghyuck," Mark said with an exhale as he did his best to muster up a smile. Haechan mimicked the facial expression with a small eye roll that Mark caught. 

"You still stand weird," the younger mumbled, not backing down in the slightest. He never let mark get the last word. Never.

The older huffed, it seemed never ending with the boy, but it's not like he didn't play a hand in their mutual feelings for one another. He could just stay quiet, not say anything and allow the younger to just tire himself out, but there was just something about Haechan that made mark tick. The latter just knew all the right buttons to push to make Mark snap on him. It was like a game to him- to see how long it would take him this time to make Mark throw some choice words back at him. Which is just what he was planning to do.

"You know Donghyuck, if you really think I stand weird, then you'll be surprised with your stance when I get my hands on our scrawny ass-"

"Yo! Haechan!"

Marks threats were cut short by a low voice calling for the younger boys attention. 

"Leave him alone and get your ass over here."

Mark scoffed, as if anyone would want to be near that little prick. He was the real one causing all the problems, they all really knew that. 

Haechan gave Mark a wicked smile before taking his leave. Mark released a long breath he didn't even realize he was holding as he shook his head. He needed to get grip and not let this kid get under his skin anymore. It had gone on for to long and Mark had let it. 

Mark knew that he was going to do great things at and for this company, but he also knew that if he didn't do something about this Donghyuck situation soon, he might do something he regrets.

~


	19. XVII

"Maybe you should just talk to him you know. Get the kid to tell you why he hates you so much."

"Or you could just fuck him up. Let that prick know who's boss."

Marks tongue darted out between his lips as he kept his focus on the sparring dummy in front of him. His hair stuck matted to his forehead as his own labored breaths filled his ears, drowning out the chatter of the others behind him. He didn't have time to listen to his group of friends as they spewed out bullshit ideas to help him with his "problem."   
That problem being across the gym as they spoke, giving Mark a deadly side eye. That look made his skin crawl, and it took all of his strength to not walk over there and wipe it off his face right in front of everyone. 

Rolling his shoulders and shaking out his limbs, Mark eyed his "opponent" before getting into the stance Lucas had shown him. 

The slightly older male had observed Mark one afternoon and noticed small inconsistency's with his movements all due to his stance. Once he fixed that, he gave the boy a few more tips before leaving him to find his own rhythm. Mark was truly grateful for the older males help and Lucas wasn't the only other person that had given their own tips and tricks. It really felt like he had a bunch of brothers. Well, some brothers, a badass sister, and one annoying twat.

"No, violence is not the answer in this situation. You know Haechan will only retaliate, causing more issues that we do not need right now." Jaehyun shook his head as he sat on a bench, taping up his right wrist.

"And so what if he does? What's Donghyuck going to do that's so bad?" Johnny sat opposite of the younger, fixing his own attire so he could start practice. 

At that, Mark couldn't help but audibly scoff, throwing his head back in the process. The sick grin that came across his lips only made his aura more threatening, giving Johnny and Jaehyun a new perspective on the younger.

"He couldn't do jack, and he knows that." Mark fixed the tape on his hands, tightening them more. "The only reason he keeps trying to fuck with me is because he knows you guys will pull us apart when things get to be 'too much." Mark moved on the mat with light steps, "you always do." He mumbled, mainly to himself. "If it weren't for that we wouldn't be having this problem." The boy turned to face his elders, cocking his hips as stood.

Jaehyun sighed, propping his arm up on his leg to look Mark in the eye, "and why do you say that, Lee?"

Another sadistic smile found purchase on Marks face, "I say it because I just know."  
With that, he made his leave, looking for a place to get a drink.

"Dude... he needs like, mental help with this. It's not healthy."

Jaehyun sighed, he wouldn't put it as blatantly as Johnny has, but in reality it was true. Whatever little rivalry they had going on was... odd, to say the least. 

No one knew exactly how it started but it obviously had something to do with this vendetta that Donghyuck had on Mark. It obviously affected the fire weilder more, seeing as Mark had only taken about ten steps before Haechan has made a less that impressed face, and a move to get over to the latter.

"Oh shit, here we go again," is the last thing Jaehyun hears before he tunes into the 'Mark and Haechan show.'

"Sup Minhyung, hows play time over there going."

The latter visibly cringed at the voice of the younger male, but kept his cool demeanor as he turned around, cup of water in hand. 

"Play time," Mark gritted out, "is going fine Donghyuck. I'd ask how your training is going but from what I can see," Mark paused, giving the boy a once over. "There isn't much improvement in your physical attributes."

Haechans jaw visibly tightened at his words, mind instantly going to an all to familiar place, "you calling me fat, Lee?"

Mark laughed, probably louder than was necessary but there was nothing he could do now that the sound has already left his lips. Said sound only made the younger boy angrier, if that was even possible. 

"You better watch your mouth Mark," Haechan could feel the pit in his tummy starting to expand, giving him the all too familiar feeling of embarrassment. He wasn't sensitive, but that didn't mean the subtle jab at his weight from the latter didn't get to him.

"Hey man, I didn't say shit, you did. So that must mean you believe it. Is that true?" Mark knew what he was doing, but he couldn't possibly have known how deep the old wounds he was ripping open all over again were.

Haechan felt the feeling of warmth over take his body and he tried, he really did, to suppress the feeling of rage that was coursing through him. But like everything else in the younger males life, it all started to become to much. Overwhelming to say the least. 

"Well Donghyuck?" 

Said boy looked up, his once peaceful irises now filled with a dangerous red hue. 

"It doesn't matter what I think to you. You don't care. And I don't care about you." Mark did his best to seem not phased by the way Haechans voice dropped and his aura grew cold at a scarily fast rate. 

"Aw come on Haechan, you know I care. I care because I wouldn't want anyone lying to you about something like this." Another rude look over from Mark was the final straw for Haechans self control. 

In what felt like a millisecond, Haechan lunged at Mark, causing both males to hit the deck with a loud thud. It caught everyone's attention and sent the usuals into their positions. 

Haechan being the one to initiate the attack, was the first to throw a punch, landing one right on the lower half of Marks jaw. The younger rose his clenched hand up for a second blow but before he could, the boy beneath him took a hold of that fist and pushed in attempt to get the boy off of his body. In his endeavors, Mark managed to land a pretty gruesome kick to Haechans lower abdomen, sending the boy back a few inches.

"Did you feel that one Donghyuck? Or was their something cushioning it." Mark did his best to yell at the younger with his sore jaw.  
The latter went in for another attack, only to be lifted clean off the floor by a much larger figure than his own. 

"You two need to cut it out before I fuck both of you up! Am I clear? I'm sick of you two always causing problems. Fix this shit on your own time!"

It was Taeyong who stood between the struggling males. Lucas behind Haechan and Johnny holding onto Mark by his shoulders.

Both boys took heavy breaths, keeping shaky eye contact with one another. Everything seemed all to familiar to Mark until he saw something he'd never thought the younger male was capable of doing. Lucas held tightly onto Haechan as he began to move him away from the crowd, but not before Mark saw the light shine on the boys face at the right angle to show his true emotions. It was a first for Mark when he felt the twinge of the organ in his chest as he watched Lucas pull the young boy out of the room, most likely leading him to a bathroom down the hall. 

Mark shook his head as Johnny released him from the death grip. Everything else happened as a blur to Mark. Even with Taeyong giving him a good scolding and Johnny knocking him around saying he wasn't being serious when he threw out the idea of hurting the kid, the only thing Mark saw was the reoccurring image of Donghyucks tear stained cheeks as he was lead outside.

•

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Sooyoungs calm voice filled the unisex restroom, located down the hall from the training room. The light haired boy that stood hunched over the sink lifted his head, locking eyes with the female. His eyes were puffy and his fingers shook as he went to turn the water on. Splashing to cool water on his face, Donghyuck looked up at his wrecked appearance. 

"At least let me look at your stomach, that was a pretty nasty kick." Sooyoung stepped closer to the boy, only to have him wrap his arms around himself and shake his head repeatedly.

Sooyoung purses her lips, "please? I promise I won't touch, I just want to get a look so I can make sure nothing to serious happened."

Another shake of his head made Sooyoung sigh, "why not Haechan?"

"Because." The soft mumble that left the sniffling boy's lips made the girls heart sink. 

"Because why?"

He couldn't look at her, not in the eyes at least, "because you'll laugh at me."

Sooyoung kept her face neutral, wanting the younger boy to trust her. "And why would I laugh at your tummy Haechan?" She truly wanted to know what was so wrong with what she was asking of him.

"Exactly that... you'll laugh at my tummy."  
His word left with a small shake behind them, and Sooyoung understood.

"Mm, you think I'll make fun of you..."  
The boy nodded, securing his arms even tighter around his torso.

Sooyoung took a few steps back so she could lean against the wall opposite to where the younger was standing. They stood in silence for a moment, Sooyoung trying to find the right words to tell Haechan there was nothing he should be ashamed of. 

"You don't have to say anything," the girl snapped her head up, lookin at Haechans still trembling figure. "I've heard everything there is to say, I don't need to hear it over again."

Sooyoung nodded her head in understanding, "ah, I see." At that, Haechan couldn't help but question her.

"See what, exactly?"

That's this isn't the first time you've gone through this. Some kids probably told you in grade school that you were pudgy, or that you had big cheeks and that made you self conscious. Now... you have Mark doing that, all over again. He's digging up your past."

The boy lowered his head, was he that easy?

"But, you really shouldn't let him of all people get to you. If anything you should be the bigger person here. It would show all those guys out there that even though you are younger than Mark, you're the one who's more mature."

The dials in Haechan began to turn as he understood what Sooyoung was trying to insinuate to him. That's when Sooyoung noticed the small smile that graced the boy's face. He still stayed silent, but as Sooyoung was about to leave, Haechan turned to the mirror above the sink. 

A shaky breath left his lips as he tightly gripped the hem of his workout shirt, slowly beginning to lift it. There was a prominent outline of a foot on his lower abdomen, but it didn't look too serious to Sooyoung so she left it at that. While she had the chance, she observed the rest of the boy and registered what she working with. 

It was a simple case, the one you see in every book, movie, and drama. The character who feels disgusting in their own skin, even if the attribute they're upset with is in perfect condition. Haechans perfectly flat stomach wasn't a surprise to her at all. He didn't have the definition or outlines that some of the other members had, but he wasn't by any means fat. 

Sighing, Sooyoung grabbed the handle to the door.

"Sooyoung..."

"Hm?" The girl looked over her shoulder at the boy who was now facing her.

"Thank you." It was a quiet appreciation that made the girls eyes sparkle.

"Anytime Donghyuck, let me know if you need anything else okay? You can always come to me."

Haechan couldn't help but blush at her kindness before whispering a small "okay" and watching the first person besides his mom to see him with his shirt up walk out of the room.

~


	20. XVIII

Sooyoung placed the last of her supplies and books into her locker before shutting it. 

"Hey."

With a small yelp and a jump, Sooyoung looked to her left and a came face to face with someone she'd never spoken to outside of the practice room.

"Oh!... hey Taeyong. What's up?"

The colored hair boy gave a weak smile, "sorry to startle you, but I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second?"

The girl nodded hesitantly, "sure, I have a free period right now. Library?"

Taeyong nodded and followed the girl through the familiar halls. He recalled so many memories in the building, some good some not. As they walked the short distance across campus to the library, Sooyoung couldn't help but be nosy.

"So... what brings you on campus today... I thought Johnny had said you graduated."

"I did, two years ago, but I still come back to help teachers with grading and lesson planning. I made a lot of friends here, but most of them are staff," Taeyong smiled sheepishly as he reached to open the glass door to the research center.

"Oh, ok. Well that's actually... really helpful of you. I bet those teachers are grateful to have a prior student like you." Sooyoung walked in first with Taeyong close behind. They found a small table in the back near the science-fiction section and sat down, but not before Taeyong gave a warm 'hello' to the librarian.

Seeing this Taeyong versus the other one she had met a few months ago was like night and day. During these past months, it's mainly been basic training, trying to help the boys get a good feel of what they'll be doing in the field. But this Taeyong and the one she saw torment that one officer really confused her. These boys were just full of surprises.

"So what's up?" Sooyoung sat her bag down in the chair next to her as Taeyong sat opposite. The boy sighed before placing his clasped hands on the table.

"I wanted to ask what you said to Donghyuck in the bathroom the other day."

Sooyoung froze, "why? Did he say I said something bad? Did he do something bad? Did he pick another fight with Mark? Cause I told him not to-"

"Sooyoung, chill out." Taeyong couldn't help but crack a small smile at the girls mini freakout.

"No, everything's ok. I just wanted to know because he seemed to be pretty much back to normal a couple minutes after you spoke to him, when it usually takes him a day or two to bounce back."

"Oh... I just told him he should be the bigger person and to not let Mark get to him. I thought maybe the fact the he was younger was the problem, but I didn't want to push too much."

Sooyoung didn't want to give away the entirety of her and Haechans conversation. She didn't know if the boy would be ok with her sharing his personal business to the other members and she was just starting to earn a little trust with him.

"Well I appreciate whatever you did. It gets to be a lot with all of them. I just wanted to make sure he and you were ok, and to say thank you for helping him out."

"Hey, were all on the same team here," Sooyoung smiled at the older male. "Though we may not all get along, we've gotta watch out for one another."

Taeyong beamed, "you'd be a good leader, you know that?"

Sooyoung snorted, "and try and compete with you? Not a chance. I see the way you watch out for everyone, I could never do that by myself."

Taeyong sigh softly, "I can't... that's why I'm glad I have people like you on my team. You make it easier because I know I have more than one person keeping an eye out for the others."

"I never took you for the sappy type, Taeyong."

Said boy laughed, "I could say the same for you. There's a lot we don't know about one another."

Sooyoung scoffed, "you could say that again. But if you don't mind me asking... how do you know all the guys?"

Taeyong sat and thought for a moment, reminiscing for a quick moment, "the first one I met was Ten. He and I danced together when I was a junior and he was a freshman. He introduced me to all of his friends and I was pretty much the old hag of the group."

Sooyoung giggled along with Taeyong as he recounted all the different meetings he'd had with the other boys.

"Then I met Taeil, and he was older which was nice for once, then everyone else just somehow ended up at parties or games I went to. Once I graduated I thought I'd never see any of them again, but they never stopped calling or checking up on me. I knew they were all busy with school, but they always made time for me. That's why I try and be in attendance whenever I can to see them. All of them."

"That's really something," Sooyoung smiled. "I'll be honest... I was really skeptical about all of this." Sooyoung made a big circular motion with her arms as Taeyong let out an airy laugh at her.

"Why is that?"

Sooyoung shrugged, "I don't know... I just thought you guys wouldn't like me, or treat me differently because my parents work there. Maybe be mad at me like I knew anything."

"Sooyoung," Taeyong gave the girl a stern look, "your face when we got off that elevator was proof enough that you had no idea." He chuckled, "it looked like you'd seen a ghost, everyone could tell you weren't expecting them to be there."

"I'm glad I gave a convincing performance." Sooyoung looked down at her lap, remembering how unreal it felt seeing her parents the first day they had been introduced to the company.

"Hey, at least they don't baby you. It could be worse."

Sooyoung smirked, "oh, trust me I know. But, do you know why you never see my mother in the training room? Or why she leaves when we're about to do something dangerous? It's because she can't stomach the fact that we are about to do something like what we do."

Slowly nodding his head, Taeyong thought out loud, "she must be overbearing of you."

"Not just me, all of us."

Taeyong looked up, "Really? Why?"

"Cause she cares... she thinks of you as her kids. Almost everyone on that place does."

Taeyong lightly scoffed, a small eye roll following.

Sooyoung couldn't hide the look that spread across her face, "Taeyong..." she took a deep breath, debating how she should word her next question. 

"I know this is really probably really personal... a-and if you don't want to talk about it we don't have to..."

Taeyong's body stiffened, mind jumping to conclusions almost instantly with the girl and her assumption.

"I read your file..." Sooyoungs voice was small as she spoke, not daring to look up at the older male in front of her. She had briefly read over a few of the other boys, but Taeyongs was the one that really stuck out to her.

"You got admitted to Alpha Gate... a lot... and I'm not going to ask why,- 

Another scoff, "because you already know." His voice was cold after dropping an octave.

"but still, I want to know what got you so triggered at that guard in the first meeting we had?"

Taeyong sat silent, not knowing what to say. It wasn't like he had anyone to really talk to about all of his experiences there, and he wasn't expecting to start now. Nor did he want to.

Sooyoung got up, noticing how Taeyong had paled severely in such a short amount of time. She moved her bag to the floor and took the seat next to him. Sooyoung hadn't meant to make the boy scared, she just had so many questions.

"Taeyong... what did they really do to you?"

He shook his head, "you don't want to know."

"Yes, Taeyong I do."

"No, you don't."

He didn't yell, but the seriousness in his voice, and the way his jaw clenched making the vein in his neck prominent told Sooyoung to just drop it. 

All of the painstaking memories hit Taeyong like a tidal wave, his rapid blinking and unsteady breathing pattern were obvious to anyone walking by.

"Ok... I'm sorry, look Tae-"

"I have to go."

The boy was quick to gather his belongings and make a beeline to the exit. It was one thing to ask, but another to assume. He didn't want the girl knowing why because he knew it would only cause problems. Problems he brought onto himself and ones he needed to fix.

Sooyoung watched as the door closed behind him and huffed back in her seat, neck bending over the headrest.

"Fuck me."

Well, practice should be fun tomorrow.

~


	21. XIX

"That's the last of the injected ones. They've all obtained their abilities. Now we can begin the Virtual Reality simulations."

The twenty two trainees stood along side one another as the four doctors explained the next step in their training process. At the mention of 'virtual reality' everyone quickly tuned in.

Mr. Kim was the first to speak directly to the kids, "In these simulations you will experience some... extreme confusion, also see some alarming things but they are only to prepare you for what you might undergo while battling these other worldly beings."

In obvious distress, Mrs. Kim took a shaky breath, "please know that we don't like to put you kids through this... but it's necessary. These simulations will show you different scenarios, along with some of your greatest fears."

At that, Jisung quickly looked around, hoping to see at least one other person with a look of confusion. He wondered how these people knew anything about what the 'other world' was like. They had mentioned only having contact with this place. Or, more importantly, how they knew of his biggest fears.

It seemed as if most were asking the same questions as the youngest, thinking of how anyone had found out about said 'fears' while others scoffed at the thought of having such emotions. But deep down, everyone is afraid of something. They all knew that.

•

"Ok, first up will be Taeil."

At his name being called, Taeil's body moved on its own, making his way towards the large metal contraption in the basement of Alpha Gate.

Taeils come to the conclusion that there is nothing more nerve racking than riding in those damn company elevators, and he's been scrubbed in on a trauma surgery. He doesn't know what awaits him in the large cylindrical glass capsule surrounded by sheets of metal on the tops and bottoms.

The wires that hung lowly in the chamber were soon being attached to his forehead and upper body. The multicolored wires all cascaded around him as the doors to the chamber were closed. (But not without steam, for dramatic effect. He thinks?)

"Ok Taeil... are you ready?"

Mr.Kims radio static voice echoed throughout the enclosed space, letting taeil know they can see and hear him throughout this whole experience.

He slowly began to nod his head, his free to move limbs shaking slightly with angst. Taeil knew this was going to be bad he could just feel it, and the only thing he could tell himself was that he'd be able to heal it if he got himself hurt. But Taeil can't heal mental wounds. Or emotional ones.

"Ok Mr.Moon, once I pull this switch your simulation will begin. It will feel as if you actually experiencing the events you see, but I promise that nothing will harm you."

"Oh! That makes me feel soo much better," taeil mumbled under his breath, trying to still be respectful while his knees shook.

"If we feel that you are coming under too much strain, we will end the simulation immediately. We also have a safe word that you can use if you feel you are becoming unstable. Just say 'Neo' and we'll shut it down."

'Neo? That's so random. Sounds dumb'

Taeil did his best to nod his head without unsticking one of the attached wires.

"Alrighty then, start the countdown."

Taeil wanted to hold his breath, but he of all people knew that would only make him pass out. Plus they'd probably make him just do all this crap over again.

Mr. Kim and Dr. Lee both stood behind the large control panel and pressed a combination of different buttons, setting up the timer.

"Ok, ten seconds Taeil, then you will feel some discomfort, and finally nothing."

'Holy fuck, that's what they say at the hospital. They really need to find a better way to word that.'

"Ten... Nine..."

The robotic voice began a slow countdown as lights began to flash a bright red.

"Eight...Seven..."

The noises reminded the male of the time when they were first injected with the liquid that activated their abilities. Ah, memories.

"Six...Five..."

'Wow they need to learn to speed this up a little.'

"Four... Three..."

"Remember Taeil, you can stop whenever you want."

"Two... One..."

"Simulation Commence"

•

On his back, Taeil opened his eyes to see nothing but smoke covering the sky. A coughing fit insued as he waved his hand around, trying to make out his surroundings.

The bright flames of fire were the first thing to catch Taeils attention as his vision adjusted.

'What the hell happened here?'

He could barley make out the small moans and groans of what sounded like people causing him to shiver. Taeil knew he had to get a better look at what was going on, but when he saw the first figure laying on the pavement, he wished he'd just stayed put.

"_Doyoung_?"

Said boy laid sprawled out a few yards from the healer.Taeils heart stopped as he looked to see if the younger boy's chest was moving. With out thinking, Taeil immediately made the move to help his friend, not realizing his own injuries.

His body felt incredibly heavy as he did his best to get onto his feet and when he did, a sharp pain shot through limbs making him cry out in discomfort. Taking quick breaths, Taeil mentally prepared himself to move the short distance to his friend.

The boy bit his lip to try and mute the yelp of pain he so badly wanted to release.

With a grunt, Taeil limped his figure over to his friend.

"Doyoung... hey! Doyoung!"

Taeil did his best to seem calm as the younger male tried stir in whatever state he was in. His eyes were barley opened and his pulse was fading quickly.

Looking over his body he saw numerous cuts and gashes, the deep ones still bleeding. Taeil began making mental notes of which ones he'd start with first, the deeper ones being the most important.

While he was examining the boy, Taeil noticed the male coughing up what looked like coffee grounds, making him panic. He knew the signs of internal bleeding, and the little black dots in the fluid coming from Doyoung was one indicating something in his stomach.

Taeils head shot up, eyes teary as he screamed,

**"THIS ISN'T FAIR... I HAVEN'T TRAINED ENOUGH FOR THIS AND YOU ALL KNOW THAT!"**

He'd been tending to small cuts in practice, his trainer wanting to take things slowly so Taeil could learn everything.

He was hysterical now, the suffocating feeling of not being able to help someone who needed it took over his entire being. He knew there was nothing he could do, yet he still did everything he knew.

**"I JUST STARTED TRAINING FOR MY POWERS... I DON'T HAVE THE STRENGTH YET PLEASE! PLEASE YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING."**

The screams from the others only seemed to get louder as Taeils hands shot to his ears, attempting to block out the horrendous wails that surrounded him.

It wasn't until a large gust of wind seemed to come through, lifting the heavy smoke that covered the streets of the city. Revealing the true devastation of whatever events took place.

_"Oh my God... oh my God..."_

Bodies, everywhere.

When the sound of weighted feet hitting the pavement was heard, Taeil quickly turned on his knees to see a badly injured kun, his once clean shirt now completely stained with what looked to be his own blood.

"Why didn't you save us?"

Taeil was quick to shake his head, "No! I can! Please let me help you Kun!"

Kun shook his head, "no you can't... you can't save all of us."

Taeils head moved side to side, "I can and I will, watch me."

Taeil moved to his feet as he stood in front of kun, placing his already red stained hands on the boy's abdomen. He shut his eyes tightly, ready to begin the self draining process. But he knew he had to do it, he'd do it for anyone.

Eyes still shut, Taeil did everything he'd been working on in practice to try and heal the younger male, but to no avail.

"Come on... come on! Shit! Please start glowing like you normally do!"

Kun sighed, "you see? You can't, you'll never be able to. Never." The boy spat out harsh truths to the healer.

At that, Taeils hands only tightened on the boy's wounded abdomen, causing a scream to escape Kun's lips.

"STOP! IT HURTS, YOU'RE HURTING ME!"

Taeil hands retracted as if he'd been burned by kuns skin. His eyes began to roam, recognizing all of the other faces that layed lifeless along with Doyoung. His friends. His new family.

His whole team was slipping away, and he knew deep down that kun was right. He'd never be able to save them all, he was too weak.

More yelling, more flames, more smoke. Everything surrounded Taeil, reminding him there was no escaping it.

**"NEO! I CANT DO THIS! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"**

Everything suddenly calmed as room began to spin. Taeil felt his body slowly weaken, his eyes beginning to close on their own. But not before he saw the life leave his friends.

his biggest fear.

•

"Taeil! Taeil honey please calm down." The boy opened his clenched eyes to see Mrs. Kim knelt in front of him, his trembling body in her arms. They both sat on the floor as the older woman cradled the teary eyed boy, trying her best to calm him down. Mrs. Lee was soon kneeling in front of him as well, a cool rag and a bottle of water in her hands.

"I'm so sorry Taeil... please forgive us," Mrs. Kim whispered in the boy's ears. He could hear the displeasure in her voice as Mrs. Lee placed the cool rag on his forehead.

The boy didn't have the heart to look around the room where he knew his fellow trainees were standing. He wasn't sure if they had seen any of what happened, but his question was soon answered when Doyoung quickly came into his view of vision, completely unharmed but visibly emotional.

"_Taeil_," Doyoung took the place of Mrs. Lee, taking the towel into his own shaking hands. Doyoungs voice was barley above a whisper, but the older male in front of him didn't lift his eyes.

He was ashamed, beyond embarrassed of what had happened in his simulation. He couldn't look Doyoung in the eye, not wanting to believe the boy was seeing him in such a vulnerable state.

"Taeil, Mr. Kim and Dr. Lee are going to help you up, ok?" Mrs. Kim's voice soon filled his ears and the only acknowledgments he could give was the small shake of his head.

He was then lifted carefully and walked out of the room with much assistance. While he was being taken out, Doyoung heaved a sigh before falling back completely, leaning his body against the wall adjacent to the simulator.

He felt as if it was himself in the false reality, but there was another excruciatingly heavy feeling that was pooling in his chest. One he knew would be there when he'd be lying sleepless in bed later that evening, recounting every movement, scream, and plea he'd just witnessed from his friend.

He also knew that he'd eventually have to go through the same experience as him, and he could only hope that it would be Taeil who'd be waiting there, ready to catch the boy when he fell into the darkness of his own past.

~


	22. XX

Sooyoung readjusted her small hands that she had placed over her ears. She couldn't stand the sounds of wails for help, plus her ears were still ringing from her own simulation.

The girl could tell they were finishing up with the other boys, she could hear loud screams out of Jaemin that came from the next room.

Sooyoung sat with her body hunched over, eyes trained on her tennis shoes that tapped the marble floor repeatedly. The bench she'd been sitting on was becoming almost unbearable at this point, but Sooyoung didn't have the will to get up.

She didn't have to sit through many before it was her turn to go, but that didn't mean it was any easier to get up there and do it.

Once all the wires had been attached and the simulation had begun, Sooyoung knew it was going to be a rough next couple of minutes. 

She had woken up to flames overtaking her bedroom, smoke instantly filling her lunges as she did her best to stay low and get into the hallway. 

Once she had made it out of her room, Sooyoung crawled down the long hallway that lead to the stairs. After going down the wooden steps on her butt, Sooyoung did her best to see if there was anyone else in the house, but found it to be abandoned. It wasn't until she was at the end of the downstairs hall that Sooyoung began to feel light headed, her steps becoming wobbly and her view going splotchy. She tried to reach the light that shined at the end of the long corridor, but it felt as if the hallway never ended.

It felt like hours but it was really only a few minutes before Sooyoung felt herself slowly slip out of consciousness, causing her simulation to end automatically.

Her parents had opted to stay outside as Mr. Kim ran her virtual reality. She had woken up in the room she resides in now, an oxygen machine hooked on the wall behind her bed. 

Sooyoung turned her head to the left seeing a familiar boy making small talk with an older nurse. She wasn't surprised to see him so comfortable with the woman, his file was full of hand written notes giving her professional opinion on his well being. 

When the girl shifted again, her eyes now glued to the pristine white ceiling tiles, the nurse turned to her. She wore a small smile when she leaned over Sooyoung, filling the girls line of sight.

"Good morning Miss Lee, did you enjoy your nap?" 

Sooyoung could only smile weakly as the elder lady began checking her vitals. 

"What time is it?" Sooyoungs voice was small and raspy as she mumbled to the nurse. 

The woman motioned for her to lift her head up as she checked the clock on the wall.  
"It's 7:13," she replied as her nimble fingers unhooked the oxygen from the girl. 

Sooyoungs eyes widened slightly, she'd been out for a couple of hours. She plopped her head back down. 

After a few more moments of rest, the nurse who identified herself as Mrs. Jung told Sooyoung she should get up and move so she can get her ready to go home. 

Doing as the nurse said, Sooyoung slowly stood. (After the constant refusal of help that Mrs. Jung had suggested so she wouldn't strain herself too much.)

She then moved herself to the bench she would soon sit on for the next hour or so. Sooyoung put her shoes back on and fixed her hair before falling into a deep state of thought.

She had never truly thought about any kind of fears she might've had until now. Sooyoung never kept herself up at night with endless thought like that, she had bigger things to worry about. Like if the lead male in her favorite drama was finally going to confess to his crush.

It wasn't until a pair of shoes that weren't her own came into Sooyoungs view. She lifted her eyes to see Taeyong holding her bag for her. The girl stood up quickly, taking her bag before she turned to leave the infirmary without a word.

She hadn't forgotten what happened the other day and she was still too embarrassed to even look at the older male. Sooyoung knew she should've said thank you and been more pleasant, but her body moved on it's own. It moved this way until she stepped into her room that night, regretting looking in those files.

On the other end, Taeyong was upset the girl had left before he got a chance to talk to her. A chance to apologize for his childish behavior. Yes, he was still upset that she had read all of that, but in her defense she couldn't have had any idea it was going to set Taeyong off in the way that it did. 

He wanted to be the one to explain. He wanted to tell all of the accounts that she read from his point of view. Maybe then he could explain what really happened. And that he wasn't the monster they made him out to be every time.

With a huff, Taeyong took the spot that was once occupied by Sooyoung. He leaned his back against the cool wall, his mind racing and scolding himself. Maybe he wasn't cut out for all of this, especially that whole "leader" title everyone kept throwing at him. What kind a of a leader sits there and just yells at people for no reason? What leader lies to his teammates? His friends? 

A pretty shitty one.

Before Taeyongs mind could go on about its previous thoughts, a loud bang caught its attention. The infirmary doors were opened by a trembling Jisung and Taeyongs heart dropped at the disheveled state of the young boy.

His eyes were blood shot while his hands were wrapped securely around his trembling figure. Jisung shuffled his feet as he moved to sit on the open bed.

Taeyong knew he couldn't just sit and watch as the boy violently shook in his seat. The older male stood and slowly made his was over to his youngest teammate. 

"Hey buddy..." Taeyongs voice was soft, barley above a whisper as he stood off to the side of the boy.

Jisungs eyes stayed locked with the floor as he just shook his head, a pathetic sniffle leaving him as more tears spilled from his eyes.

Taeyong drew a small breath before bending down so he could look in the eyes of the younger as he hung his head low.

With the same tone as before, Taeyong spoke.  
"Do you wanna talk about it?"

As quickly as Taeyong asked, Jisung declined with a quick shake of his head and another sniffle. 

Taeyong nodded, "ok, well do you wanna lay down? You should try and relax Ji, your body is under a lot of stress right now."

The younger nodded while maneuvering his body so that he laid flat on his back. While the boy got comfortable, Taeyong moved to get a few things from around the room. He wasn't trained by any means, but he'd been in here as a patient enough times to know what always helped him calm down. 

A bottle of water, a rag, and a heated up blanket were what he returned with as Jisung laid, a little less shaken up. Taeyong held the bottle of water in front of the boy, waiting for his larger hands to take it.

Jisung was a big kid, really. He was just shy of eighteen, yet he towered over most of the other guys at school. Despite his height, Jisung was still a boy, especially in mind and Taeyong could only imagine what crazy images and thoughts were running through the boy's mind right now.

As Jisung drank, Taeyong placed the blanket around his shoulders, bringing it so it was securely wrapped around his body. Taeyong always said it felt like a bear hug from someone you loved, but that was just him.

The towel was to wipe the boy's face clean of tears and the little sweat that had accumulated over time. 

While they sat, Taeyong could visibly see the younger relax until it seemed as if Jisung was back to normal. His breathing had regulated and his eyes no longer shined with tears.

Taeyong smiled before making his way to the door of the infirmary. He looked right outside and spotted the back pack that leaned up against the adjacent wall. He picked it up and brought it back inside with him, putting it next to the boy on the bed.

"You ready?" 

Jisung looked up and nodded. He was definitely ready to get out of this place and back to his own house.

As they walked to the exit, Taeyong made small talk with boy, trying to reassure them that it was only a simulation and whatever he saw in there couldn't hurt him.

When they arrived at the doors they were greeted by two cars, one for each of them. 

"Ok Ji, get home safe and call me if you need anything." Taeyong took the boys shoulder in his hand as the younger nodded.

Walking to his own car, Taeyong gripped the plastic handle, yanking the large black suburban door opened and climbed in, but not before he heard words that contradicted everything he had told himself not even an hour ago.

"Thank you hyung, for being a good leader."

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you think about it, the only person who saw Jisung fear was the operator...


	23. XXI

Monday's suck.

Especially when you haven't slept the past forty eight hours beforehand.

Jaemin could barley keep his eyes open, let alone pay attention in his Algebra class. His head hung low while his teacher worked what seemed to be the longest problem in history on the chalk board. He'd written the equation on his paper, but dropped his pencil next to his notebook after writing the last variable. 

He needed to pay attention. Not because there would be a test over this in the coming days, but because he wanted to think about anything except his simulation at this point.

The only good thing about the whole situation was only three people saw what had actually happened, but everyone else definitely heard the boy's pleas for help. he'd revived multiple texts from his teammates asking if he was ok. 

He wasn't.

Jaemin clenched his jaw at the thought, hand balling into a fist on its own accord as he recounted what he had been put through.

How everything just seemed to keep going, nothing slowing down for even a second. How it felt as if everything Jaemin had seen in his nightmares came to life. How he almost lost-

"Na Jaemin?"

Jaemins head shot up at the calling of his name. His teacher stood with her arms folded and right foot repeatedly tapping the floor impatiently.

"I've said your name five times Mr. Na."

The boy immediately stood and bowed, "I'm very sorry, I'll pay attention." Jaemin went to sit back down but before he could his teacher motioned him to stop.

"Don't sit, you're needed in the front office."

A look of confusion graced Jaemins face as he headed for the classroom door.

Jaemin had never been called to the office before, so this was new territory for him. He'd never done anything worthy of sending him down there, until now that is.

As he walked the quiet halls, jaemins mind began to wander again. It went back to the dark room the boy had been locked in. Back to when he did his best to get everyone out. How he did his best to save him. Jaemin did his best to save-"

"Hey Jaemin."

For the second time, Jaemin was brought back to earth by a voice calling his name. The boy picked his head up and instantly smiled as best as he could.

"Hi Jeno."

Said boys eyes crinkled as he stood in front of Jaemin.

"What brings you down here?"

Jaemin hadn't even realized he was on the opposite side of campus now.

"Oh... I was supposed to be heading to the office, but I guess I got lost." The boy wore a sheepish smile as he scratched his nape.

Had he really walked all the way in the wrong direction?

"Well you might want to head back that way then," Jeno said with a giggle.

Jaemin nodded shyly, "I guess so... I'll see you around." The boy was quick to turn, hoping the older male wouldn't see the embarrassment in his features. 

"Bye Jaemin!" Jeno waved at the younger, though he could see it.

Jaemin walked as fast as he could to make up for the time he'd just lost. He knew a short cut through the theater department that a friend had shown him when the school year started, and it was the perfect time to use it.

Well, it would've been, if it hadn't been for the large figure that stood in the middle of his path. Jaemin instantly thought back to when the agents at Alpah Gate had been sent to recruit them, but this guy didn't look anything like them.

He wore all black and a hood, his face partially covered from the shadow it gave. The boy couldn't tell if he'd been spotted, but his question was soon answered by the large individual making a swift dash towards him.

Turning on the balls of his feet, Jaemin made a mad dash back the way he came. He wasn't the fastest, but his body kicked into autopilot as his legs carried him all the way back to the science department. Jaemin turned his head back, eyes widening as he saw the mysterious creatures face. He thinks 'creature' now because that thing was surely not human.

He had sunken in features and his eyes were a bright gold hue. His skin looked dry, almost scaly, and his sharp canines poked out between his lips. The boy's heart jumped at its appearance, making his body move quicker.

Jaemin kept that quick pace for a while, that was until his path was blocked by a broad object. 

Jaemin and whatever he hit, fell to the floor with a thud, a grunt leaving his lips.

The boy was quick to try and get up to keep moving but his arm was clutched tightly, knocking him out of his trance.

"Jaemin, what the hell!"

Jaemins eyes widened as he realized the large object he'd ran into wasn't an object at all. It was in fact another person... that person being Jeno.

"Hyung... im so so sorry, there was this creature... and he was chasing me, a-and i didn't see you because I was looking behind me. I didn't mean to-"

"Na! Calm down..." Jeno went to grab the younger boy's shoulders. He held them tightly, waiting for Jaemin to catch his breath. 

"What are you talking about Jaemin? There's nothing there..." 

Jaemins head snapped around so quickly, Jeno thought it was going to pop off his shoulders.

The younger boy's eyes scanned everywhere, yet saw nothing. His neck grew hot as Jeno only looked at him with confusion.

"B-But... he w-was right behind me-e..." Jaemin was so scared and once again, extremely embarrassed. 

"Maybe you should head ho-"

"I'm fine," Jaemin spat. He didn't mean to be so rude, but he knew what he saw. And what he saw was definitely a freak of nature.

"Are you sure? I can walk yo-"

"I said no. I'm fine."

Jenos lips clamped shut as the younger boy gave a look of annoyance his way. He tried to apologize, but he couldn't get the words out fast enough before Jaemin turned and went in the direction of the office. 

The long way.

The place he should've been at by now. 

Jeno stood as he watched Jaemin walk away from him, body hunched and mind wandering.

What had Jaemin been so freaked out over? Was it with his simulation? Or did he actually see something?

Jeno huffed before making his way back to his class, mind and heart filled with way too many questions and concerns for a Monday.

When Jaemin finally made his way down to the office, he walked in with his head low. His day was just not going well, at all. He'd been chased by something he was now questioning, he'd body slammed and yelled at his hyung, and now he was going to be late for lunch with Lucas. He'd been looking forward to that for a week now.

Jaemin puffed his cheeks as he leaned his body against the receptions desk in the office.

The woman smiled up at him, "what can I help you with?"

Jaemin gave her a closed mouth smile, "I was called to the office?"

"Name?"

"Na Jaemin"

His breathing had finally calmed and his heart rate stayed at a steady pace. He just needed to get this over with quickly. He wanted to get back to the safety of his classroom. 

Maybe it was just a freak thing, or maybe Jeno was right. He was sleep deprived and a hallucination wouldn't be all that uncommon at this point. 

"I'm sorry, but we haven't called for you."

Or maybe it wasn't.

~


	24. XXII

"And you're sure it's eyes were gold?"

Jaemin nodded his head quickly, his sweaty palms still clasped together in front of him.

It was Tuesday, a day the trainees didn't have to come into the company, but Jaemin knew he had to tell someone of his findings.

He now sat in Mr.Kims office as the man listened intently to the boy's description of the creature he saw.

"Well Mr.Na, I can positively tell you you're not crazy."

Jaemin released a content sigh, his mind easing only slightly. The boy shifted in his seat.

"So... what did I see?"

Mr. Kim looked at Jaemin with a sad smile, "something we wished you wouldn't have so soon, but this is something important and I'm glad that it didn't go unnoticed."

Mr. Kim closed the red file folder that he had been flipping through moments ago, "I'm also glad you told me and that you're safe."

Jaemin nodded slowly, "was it-"

Before the boy could finish his question, Mr. Kim nodded and sighed.

"Yes, it was."

•

"Now when we go on the road to this game next week, don't let these guys intimidate you."

The knights basketball team stood in a tight huddle around its team captain. They had a huge game the following week against their biggest rivals.

"Now those Tigers are going to try and get in your head while your on the court. Ignore them and play like you always do."

Jisung shifted his weight from his right leg to his left. The boy stood between his teammates, eyes running along the boys that stood around their varsity captain.

He listened intently as the man in the middle, Jaehyun, spoke loud and intensely to his team.

"Alright boys, break into your teams and work on your drills. We'll regroup at 7:30."

All the boys clapped together, dispersing to their respective sides of the gym.

Jisung, being the captain of the Freshman team, approached his teammates and gave them all a warm smile.

"Alright guys, you heard cap. Lets get started."

Though he was the youngest, all the boys had incredible respect for Jisung. If you'd seen the boy in class, you'd see that he was shy, timid, and an all around wall flower.

But on the court, that's were Jisung showed his true colors. He was confident, energetic, and a bit of a show off. Jisung was good, one of the best in the school, and Jaehyun knew he would make varsity his second year. If it wasn't for school policy, the boy would've been on the upperclassman team as a freshman.

As the teams practiced, Jaehyun kept his eyes out for inconsistencies. While watching the junior varsity team, the captain noticed a certain boy with his head not in the game.

"Jeno!"

Said boy looked up from where he stood on the three point line. His eyes found Jaehyun by a set of bleachers and he began making his way over to him.

"What's up cap?"

Jaehyun looked the boy up and down, taking in his physical appearance.

"Are you taking care of yourself, Jeno?"

The boys eyes widened slightly, "yes sir. I mean I'm busy and all bu-"

"Jeno, I'm not asking as your captain. I'm asking as your friend," Jaehyun voice softened, "and your teammate."

Jenos eyes casted down to his feet, "I'm just worried about a friend. That's all... I'm okay hyung, I promise."

Jaehyun sighed, "is this about Jaemin?"

The younger boy puffed his cheeks, his face going pink, "I'm just worried about him, he seemed really upset yesterday. And when I tried to reach him after school, he declined my calls."

Jaehyun nodded, "I see, you're just looking out for him."

"I tried to find him at lunch today, but Lucas hyung told me he'd left early and went to the company."

"Maybe he's just following up with Mr.Kim, Jeno you cant beat yourself up over something so simp-"

"But it's not simple! I shouldn't have been so accusing of him hyung... I should've just believed him." Jenos voice was small at the end of his statement, eyes still trained on his shoes.

Jaehyuns hand clasped jenos shoulder, " We don't know exactly what Jaemin saw, and we won't know until tomorrow. So, until then as far as we know, Jaemin didn't see anything. It was his imagination, do you understand?"

"Loud and clear, captain."

•

Sooyoung kicked a small pebble as she walked along the side walk. Her bag hung from her shoulders and her head was casted down at her feet. She was tired, a little stressed, and very hungry.

Her solo gym session went longer than usual because she just couldn't get herself to take leave from the room. She knew she needed rest, and that she would have plenty of time to work out tomorrow with the rest of the boys, but something just kept her from leaving.

She continued her journey until the sound of shoes scuffing caught her attention. Swiftly turning her head around, Sooyoung scanned the dimly lit street, looking for any signs of movement. She was about to turn around, thinking it was just her imagination, when she saw a few branches from a near by bush moving.

On instinct the girl froze, not wanting to make any sudden movements that might tip off whatever took purchase in the bush. Sooyoung began taking light steps in the direction of the plant, being cautions to not be too loud. As she got closer, the rustling began to start up again, shaking a few stray leaves from the branches.

Sooyoung stood a foot away, trying to use the little sun that was still left in the sky and the dim street lights to see what was inside of the brush. When she couldn't make anything out, Sooyoung decided to take a step closer, only making whatever was hiding inside make itself known.

In a quick motion, the small animal, a cotton tail, popped out, making Sooyoung laugh in disbelief.

She watched as the innocent creature scrunched it's nose before bouncing off into a nearby clearing. As the girl turned with a small smile on her lips, Sooyoung was not expecting there to be a hooded figure lingering on the opposite side of the street.

Sooyoung squinted her eyes, trying her best to make out the person in the shadows.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

The figure didn't respond, but it did lift its head up, giving Sooyoung a good look at its appearance.

Dry scaly skin, sunken in cheeks, and pointy teeth.

Sooyoung gasped as the creature began taking long strides in her direction, his bright gold eyes shining with menace.

"Holy shit..."

It took her legs a few moments to register the situation, but when they did, Sooyoung made a mad dash down the street and towards her house.

The thing was fast, like dumb fast.

Sooyoung just kept running, turning her head every so often keeping an eye on the distance she was putting between herself and whatever creature was after her. (Which wasn't much)

As Sooyoung quickly approached the gate, her fingers typed in the key to her house, the figure still sprinting towards her.

"Come on! Come on!"

There was a sweet 'ding' noise and Sooyoung threw open the heavy metal and quickly ran inside, slamming the gate right as the creature placed its talons on the iron.

It shook the metal, rattling not only the fence but Sooyoung herself. She took ragged breaths as those bright eyes bored into her own.

"_What are you?"_

Her voice was barley a whisper as the animal flicked its forked tongue. It released the gate, it's body relaxing. The animal began to take strides backwards into the street, as if it knew exactly where to go.

As it walked, its body faded slowly and eventually all Sooyoung could see was the striking hue of the creatures gold orbs.

And in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

~


	25. XXIII

"We hadn't planned on telling you all this until much later, but it seems plans have changed."

Dr. Lee and Mr. Kim stood in front of the group of trainees, their expressions grave and anxious. They knew with the severity of previous events, they had to tell them of what a few of their fellow trainees had seen. It was only right.

"First, we'd like to say that we are very pleased with how your training has gone so far. You all should be very proud."

The group all smiled, a sense of pride sitting in the air. Though it had only been a few months, the trainees had gained incredible achievements. They knew it would take a lot longer to master their powers, but the boys were willing to put in the work. 

"But, let's not forget the reason we are here."

At Mr. Kim's words, the rooms atmosphere darkened. 

The real reason they were here was to keep the Earth and everyone on it safe. Their families, their friends, each other.

"We told you all that we were trying to make contact with the beings, and it seemed for a while that we were having no luck. Until now."

Two trainees felt their hearts sink, while another had the growing feeling of guilt in his tummy. 

Jaemins eyes stayed glued to the floor. He could feel a pair of irises burn into the side of his face, but he couldn't bring himself to return the gaze. 

He should've been happy, ecstatic that he wasn't as crazy as others had said he was, but he just couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to boast, he just hung his head.

"Now has anyone else see anything out of the ordinary these past few days?" Dr.Lee scanned the group is kids, his eyes widening when his daughter hesitantly raised her hand.

"Sooyoung... what did you see?"

The girl took a deep breath, her face heating at the sudden attention, "there was a creature that chased me home last night..."

Before Dr. Lee could open his mouth, Mr. Kim spoke. "What did the creature look like, Sooyoung?"

Sooyoung fiddled with her fingers, trying her best to not stutter as she spoke. "It was tall, had gold eyes... could fucking run-

"Language, Sooyoung."

"Sorry." The girls shoulders dropped.

"Are you sure? Do you think you could have imagi-"

"I know what I saw. It chased me when I came home from the gym... it ran until I locked it out of the gate. Then it just disappeared into thin air..."

Everyone listened intently as the girl spoke, no one knowing exactly what to say. 

"Well, all that matters now is that you're safe." At that, the girl took a deep breath, her mind wandering to what could've happened if she hadn't been as fast as she was.

Mr.Kim looked to Dr.Lee, "They're smarter than we thought...they've found two of them now, and who knows who else they've been watching."

"Watching us?"

Dr. Lee nodded, "they could be, and the two that attacked you two," he looked at Sooyoung and Jaemin, "were sent per request. Those beings don't have minds of their own, they have specific orders to follow."

Jaemins heart sank, "ok... I can understand Sooyoung being tracked, no offense-" The boy looked to the girl as she shook her head and smiled, "none taken."

"But why me?"

Mr.Kim looked at the boy with soft eyes, "it could be anything, you could've been at the wrong place at the wrong time, or you were the easiest target. What matters now is that we keep a close eye on all of you and run a few simple tests on you."

Dr. Lee stretched his arm out for an awaiting Jaemin as he led the boy away from the crowd, all eyes lingering as the pair left the training facility. 

"I suggest you all take it easy today and leave while it's still light out, good luck." Mr. Kim turned to follow his partner and Jaemin as the other trainees looked at one another.

The first boy to move was Jaehyun, head down and movements soft. He walked to Jeno, placing a brotherly hand on the younger boy's shoulder. No one spoke until a bitter laugh left Jeno, his head falling back as he spoke.

"I'm pretty shit friend, huh hyung?"

•

"Now just lay still Jaemin and let the machine do the work."

Said boy nodded his head as he looked around the inside of the white machine. He'd had something like this done before, when he'd had countless x-rays after he'd injured his back while wrestling. He didn't miss the feeling of the walls closing in on him, or the low hum the machine emitted.

Jaemin did his best to calm his breathing, doing all the tricks that his doctors had taught him to do while he waited for the images to appear on the doctors screens. 

He thought about how the past few days had panned out, his face scrunching up in embarrassment as he thought back to the day the creature had chased him right into his hyung. 

Put that tackle on the ESPN highlights of the week and run Jaemin his check.

He thought back to not even an hour ago when he felt Jenos eyes burn holes into the sides of his face, but one thing didn't sit right with Jaemin.

"Why?" He whispered to himself. 

"What was that Jaemin?" Dr. Lee's voice came on over the intercom, startling the boy as he hadn't meant to say the thought out loud.

"Nothing... Sorry, Sir."

"It's okay Jaemin, just relax."

Jaemin exhaled, his chest rising slowly as he returned to his breath counting.

Why did Jeno care so much? It wasn't that big of a deal. If anything, Jaemin should be the one still apologizing. Why would Jeno even want to be around him anymore? He was the one who had yelled, tackled, and disrespected the older boy. But Jeno was still persistent on talking to the younger boy about the whole thing. The thing Jaemin wished he could just erase from his memory.

After everything had happened, Jaemin had placed his phone on silence, not wanting anything to distract him, or make him forget little details about the whole incident. So when he'd checked the device on his way home, he was surprised to see all the phone calls and texts from the same number. There were a few texts from other people, but one text from Lucas was the one that he re read a few times, trying to make sense of it.

It had said that Jeno was looking for him and that he had broke the to him news that he'd gone to the company, hoping Jaemin didn't mind him telling someone else about where he'd gone. Of course Jaemin didn't, but why had Jeno cared so much to find Lucas, who was on the other side of campus. Was it because he was mad? Did he hurt him? Crack his phone screen- 

"Jaemin, you're fidgeting, just relax it's almost done."

The boy closed his eyes, mind still running with all the (wrong) possibilities as to why Jeno had tried talking to him with such urgency.

But that was the last thing Jaemin should be worrying about right now, seeing as the two men in the control room were sat trying to figure out the strange obstruction that held purchase in Jameins chest, too close to his heart for comfort.

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Senior szn is kicking my ass🤪

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
